Story Never Ending
by Smart Alex
Summary: Assorted and themed drabbles around or under 600 words, featuring various characters from KH and KH2. Mostly gen, some pairings, no continuity.
1. The Beach: Hayner, Pence, Olette

"**Today, we'll hit the beach!"**

They sit in the station and wait.

"He'll come," Hayner says, practically muttering to himself, "I'm sure of it."

Even Pence, ever optimistic, begins to look doubtful.

Olette gets them ice cream, and nearly buys four before she remembers that it's just them. They sit on the bench and finally the train leaves, and they stand up to go, silently, together. The trash can beside them is filled with ice cream sticks. They each hurt inside, but none can tell which hurts more – their heart, or their stomach.

"There's always next year," Olette suggests; and Pence nods, but Hayner scowls.

* * *

challenge: none  
words: 100 


	2. Roses Are Red: Hayner, Pence, Fuu

**Roses Are Red**

_Roses are red, violets are blue.  
I don't know what we're doing. Do you?_

"Oww," said Pence, rubbing the back of his head with an injured air. Hayner's note had flown wide of its target, and very nearly slipped down his shirt. He should've played darts more in the summer. His aim was _way_ off.

Ah, just his luck – Fuu was seated next to Pence, and had seen the paper. Now he was going to get in trouble with the teacher for writing a note, or just for not having understood the stupid assignment in the first place. She reached for the paper, delicately lifting it off of the collar of Pence's shirt…

The teacher turned from writing instructions on the board, and looked at Fuu, whose hand was still on Pence's back.

"Lint," Fuu explained blandly, patting Pence's shirt down. "Carry on."

"..please," she added as an afterthought.

The teacher finally shrugged and resumed his outline. Pence, however, looked at her strangely, but she stared back until he had turned back to his textbook.

Okay, so she hadn't turned him in... yet. Although, there was a certain advantage in having his note intercepted by one of Seifer's gang, instead of Seifer himself. Olette had the privilege of dealing with _him_ in another class. ('AP Language Arts,' he had scoffed when they had first gotten their schedules. 'Who needs it. Other than Olette,' he had hastily amended, after she had very nearly hit him for making fun of her favourite class.)

Hayner groaned, softly, and buried his head in his arms.

Something hit him on the head and fell onto his desk -- a paper airplane, made of blue-lined notebook paper, folded crisply. He unfolded it.

_Roses are red, but also pink.  
We're doing haikus, not poems.  
Don't you ever think?_

It was longer than one word. It was longer than two words. It was, if he had counted right, fifteen words long. And yet, the handwriting was decidedly feminine, and decidedly Fuu's.

He turned to look at her, but she was staring out the window.

Oblivious to the shocking realization that Fuu not only paid attention in class but also knew how to use more than one word at a time; the teacher continued his lecture about seasons, and how to put them in a poem without being too obvious. Okay, not a poem, if Fuu's note were anything to go by, but a haiku. As if there was a difference.

Either way, he figured he'd better try to write something before the period was over; otherwise, he'd really be in trouble. He discreetly opened up his notebook, copied down the first few instructions from the blackboard – what a pattern that was, 5-7-5, like his house number – and chewed on his eraser a few times.

Aha.

_Gee, Fuu, this is true  
I'd be doomed without a friend  
who was just like you. _

The look on her face when he read it out loud to the class was worth _everything_.

* * *

challenge: rhyme  
words: 500


	3. Nothing Happened: Riku, Pluto, Kairi

**Nothing Happened**

Time doesn't really exist in the darkness.

Riku found that out the hard way. Saying things like _Five steps to the left means ten seconds have passed_ had seemed a good enough way to keep track of how long he was there for, but before long the numbers were jumping around in his head like sheep and he fell asleep. (He woke up in oblivion, but that's another story.)

Time doesn't exist in the darkness, he realizes, because time is measured in light. A day can't pass by without the sun moving across the sky and the moon taking its place.

So, Riku ends up spending all of his time (making it equivalent to no time at all) following Sora around through the dark and making sure that he doesn't get into too much trouble. Occasionally, when things seem quiet, he'll leave and wander around the Organization's headquarters, and gather information. This is how he finds Pluto, after the dog had been missing for months, and this is how he learns that a renegade from the Organization is after Kairi.

He whistles, a technique perfected after traveling with Mickey for so long, and opens a corridor for the dog. He has to run to keep up with Pluto's leaps and bounds, as they pass world after world, and finally end up in a place he hadn't wanted to return to.

Riku stays just out of sight, watching as the renegade tries to convince Kairi to come with him, weapon at the ready. Finally she runs away, straight into the dark, and Pluto licks her hand to reassure her that she made the right choice. They set off down the path, and he walks a bit away from them, and watches.

Kairi is taller, her hair is longer, and her posture has changed – she no longer holds her hands behind her back, or wrinkles her nose in puzzlement, or does anything like the Kairi he knew. He wonders what she would think of how Sora's changed, of what he's become. He wonders, if they were together again, could they still be friends?

Pluto finally slows down, and looks at him for guidance, asking _Where to?_ with his eyes. Riku quietly snaps his fingers, and opens the door to Twilight Town. Pluto nudges Kairi on, and he steps out, considering it safe to reveal himself.

But Kairi still stands at the doorway, ignoring Pluto's exuberant bark. For a moment, she looks back at him, squinting, trying to understand _Who?_ and _Why?_ before the corridor ends. For a moment, she nearly sees him, and he feels something he hasn't let himself feel in a long time.

But time doesn't exist in the darkness, he reminds himself.

So that moment never really happened.

* * *

challenge: time  
words: 459


	4. Books and Bears: Sora, Merlin, kid

**Books and Bears**

The kid's just _standing_ there, licking one of those sea-salt ice cream bars Donald's uncle sells, and he keeps staring at him. Okay, so, maybe he hasn't showered since splashing around the Oasis in the Pridelands a few days ago, but he doesn't think he looks _that_ bad. But just in case, he brushes off his pants and rakes his fingers through his hair before walking over to face the kid.

He bends down to be more at the kid's eye level, and smiles. "Hey," he greets. "You waiting for someone?"

The kid takes another good lick of his ice cream, and nods solemnly. "I'm waiting for Merlin," he says. His lips are blue. Literally, blue.

"That's funny," Sora says, still grinning. "So'm I."

"He's taking an awfully long time," the kid informs him. "I expect he's forgotten all about us by now. I hope he'll remember before I have to go home for tea."

The kid, for being a kid, is talking a whole lot... well, _older_. He doesn't look more than about six or so, and Sora remembers being six, and he definitely didn't talk like that. _Riku_ didn't even talk like that. Actually, when Riku was six, he lost both his front teeth and lisped for the entire summer, so he couldn't have talked like this kid even if he had wanted to.

"Did you have an appointment?" the kid asks, carefully licking the ice cream bar towards the bottom of the stick, where it had begun to drip. "Merlin isn't seeing many people without an appointment, these days."

"I don't think I need an appointment," he says sheepishly, sitting down on the stoop. "I'm a friend of his."

"He's usually busiest on Tuesdays," the kid continues, as if Sora hasn't said a thing, and promptly sits down next to him. "I tried inviting him to tea last week but he said he'd only come after I could spell 'Tuesday', and I can't yet. Can you?"

He blinks. "I—uh, yeah, I can spell."

"Oh," says the kid.

They sit on the door stoop in silence, waiting for Merlin, and Sora wonders vaguely why Donald and Goofy are taking so long to buy supplies. Finally there is the tell-tale poof of smoke and Merlin appears in a whirlwind of sparkles. The kid swallows the rest of his ice cream in one bite.

"Sorry, had an urgent case, had to go— Oh, good, you're still here, do come in," Merlin says very fast, taking great strides towards his house, and adjusting his hat as he walks. "Be with you in a minute, Sora. Now then, lad, I had something very special laid aside for you.."

He trails off as the kid follows him into the house, and Sora sneakily peeks in through the open doorway, trying to see what could be so important.

"Now then, I expect you to take very good care of it," he hears Merlin lecture. "It's a very special book, and very old, but I think you'll like it. Perhaps you'll meet some new friends.."

They come back out, and Sora casually rests against the doorframe, arms folded behind his head. He only catches a glimpse of the book in the kid's arms, but the kid is smiling, so it must be something really good.

"Thank you very much, Merlin," the kid says politely, and he waves goodbye to Sora before setting off towards the market.

"You're very welcome, Christopher Robin," Merlin calls back. "Take _care_, do you hear?"

"Nice kid," Sora says, and follows the wizard inside the house.

* * *

challenge: none  
words: 596 


	5. That Night: Yen Sid, Maleficent

**That Night**

They sat on the hill, two young people in love, and watched the sun dip down beyond the sea. The stars twinkled into view, and he could see her pale face light up as the night began to settle down over them like the blanket that they should have brought with them to guard against the dark's chill.

'It is beautiful,' she whispered, enthralled by the view.

'You should have it,' he declares, and reaches out a hand to the sky. A bit of starlight falls into his grasp, and he carefully places it in her hand, smiling gently.

'Oh,' she gasps, and holds it out. He places his hands under hers, and the starlight begins to slip through her long fingers, and seep into his own rougher hands.

She withdraws her hands, and smiles weakly.

-

They sat on the hill, two young people in love, and watched the sun dip down beyond the sea. She watched as the night wrapped around everything, carefully blanketing all in indifferent darkness. She felt him smile next to her, and saw him look up at the twinkling stars, his usual stern expression giving way to wonder.

How foolish he was, she thought, to be enamored with the light. Light was everywhere, and horribly common, but the darkness.. Ah, the darkness was something to be sought out, a rare gem in the midst of fool's gold.

'It is beautiful,' she murmurs absently.

'You should have it,' he declares, and she starts as he places something in her hands.

It hurts.

She gasps, and quickly reaches for his own hands. The starlight passes into his grip, and she gives him a pitiful smile.

The fool still doesn't realize how the light will burn.

* * *

challenge: starlight  
words: 289 


	6. Float the Flimsy Surface: Sora, Roxas

**Float the Flimsy Surface**

Sora's sleeping, and dreaming, and he knows he's dreaming because Roxas is standing there on the stained glass platform, feet planted over Snow White's eyes. He checks his own feet, in one of those dream-actions that don't make sense when you wake up, and realizes he is standing on Belle's mouth. See no evil, speak no evil.

"So what's up?" he asks, folding his arms behind his head. Roxas' arms are crossed over his white jacket, and he is frowning ever so slightly. Sora grins in response, and he's a little bit nervous, but he hides it.

"You've been thinking about Them recently," the other boy says. His mouth twists as he says Them, and it's painfully clear that they're not talking about any old them, but _Them_, black coats and smirks and no hearts and all.

"Don't lie," Roxas warns.

"Yeah, actually," Sora admits, arms lowering. "I've been thinking about.. whether I did the right thing. About if I really should have.."

"You didn't kill Them, Sora," the other boy reminds him. "They were dead a long time ago. Stop worrying about it."

Phantom shadows form around them, dreamily, almost humanoid. Sora looks down at his feet and shifts his weight a little to the right. Belle smiles up at him, glass eyes cold as her glass smile and face, and he thinks of the Beast who wasn't quite what he seemed, either.

"I just don't understand, I guess," he sighs. "Yen Sid told me Nobodies can't feel, but.. Axel felt. Didn't he?"

"Yeah," Roxas agrees, darkly. "He did."

"And Demyx, he felt.. fear, and-- and stuff," Sora continues. "And even Xemnas felt rage and hatred and bad things like that."

"Listen, Sora," Roxas says fiercely. "You don't know anything about Them."

Sora stares at him(self), and Roxas glares back. He's serious, now, and almost dangerous. The drifting shadows begin to seem more like definite shapes as arms and legs and heads form, like people who never quite existed.

"I may not have known Them as well as you did," Sora says indignantly, "but I think I got a pretty good idea of who they were. Considering."

One of the shadows drifts over to Roxas and reaches out to ruffle his hair. His arm shoots out, catching the shadow by the wrist, and suddenly a phantom Axel stands there.

"We were friends," Roxas says, holding tightly to Axel's wrist, "in that we weren't enemies. This guy, who saved our skins, is the same one who put Kairi in danger, nearly killed Naminé, murdered a fellow Organization member in cold blood, and was responsible for the deaths of so many others. But you still feel sorry for him."

Sora frowns slightly. "Wait, he-- _what_?"

Phantom Axel grins, and quickly twists out of Roxas' tight grip, and goes to join the rest of Them who are hovering around. He crooks two fingers and taps them to his forehead, silently mouthing something that Sora can't quite make out.

"We felt, that's true," Roxas continues. "We felt what we remembered we had to feel. We felt desperation, we felt anger, we felt cold. We felt everything that not-feeling meant."

Sora listens without really hearing, thinking of Naminé, and her life being put in danger, and wonders why he could almost see that happening. Some of the shadows have pushed back their hoods, now, to laugh at him. A woman shows her teeth, almost a snarl, almost a smile, and Sora feels almost as if he ought to know her.

"Just drop it," Roxas tells him. "You don't understand."

"But I want to," Sora tries to answer, but the dream is beginning to fade into morning, and the shadows are pooling around his feet and beginning to pull him into the dark. He glances down, and notices that the black cloak he wears is beginning to merge with the darkness. He tries to pull himself out, black-gloved hands tugging uselessly on black cloth, but finally wakes up.

-

challenge: desperation  
words: 664 (whoops?)  
notes: .. won at khdrabble.


	7. Not A Good Day: Yuffie, Sora

**Not A Good Day**

The door to the small house opened abruptly, slamming against the wall as a Heartless poked its head through before disappearing in a cloud of darkness, a giant key hitting the ground with a sharp clinking sound. Sora stepped through the doorway, but it wasn't until he shut the door tightly that Yuffie relaxed her hold on her shuriken.

"That was a little bit too close," she informed him cheerfully.

Sora ignored her and stumbled through the room, falling onto the bed face first. His face was pale, and he was still clutching the Keyblade – a sure sign of something having gone wrong. Yuffie promptly uncorked a spare Potion and poured it over the boy's head.

"Thanks," Sora sighed, sitting up and finally vanishing the Keyblade. "I ran out of those a few minutes ago, so Donald and Goofy went to go buy some more. Where is everyone?"

"Leon and Aerith are making the rounds," Yuffie said. "Cid had to go fix some ship, so I got stuck with guard duty." She grimaced, and Sora laughed weakly. Something was definitely wrong, there; she usually made the kid laugh without even trying.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, hands on her hips, looking straight at him. He blinked, and smiled hesitantly, before scratching the back of his head.

"Today is not a good day," Sora said finally. "I've been messing up at _everything_."

"You can't mean that," Yuffie scoffed, almost amused. Teenage angst was _so_ cliché.

"No, really," Sora assured her, "I mean it. You know that lady who hangs around the restaurant in the First District?"

Yuffie thought. "The hooke—I mean, the one with the fancy outfit? Yeah, I know her."

"Well, she always looks so sad, you know? So I went over to try and cheer her up, and I told her all about my island. Then I asked where she came from and she nearly bit my head off," he said forlornly, staring at his feet.

"Well, some people just don't want to talk about their home worlds, 'cause they don't want to remember," Yuffie reasoned. "It's nothing personal."

"She said the same thing, after she stopped screaming at me. But then," Sora continued, "I saw this kid who looked a whole lot like my friend Tidus, but then it turned out he wasn't. He asked me if I was the guy who destroyed the giant Heartless from the clock tower, and then he wanted to know what happened when people were taken by the Heartless; so I told him they become Heartless, too. Then he asked if I also fought small Heartless, and I said yes, and _then_ he went 'Since I can't find my parents and you're killing the Heartless then _maybe you killed my parents_.'"

"And what happened next?" Yuffie asked.

"He cried," Sora said flatly. "A lot. And the restaurant lady yelled at me _again _for 'causing trouble'. Then the guy at the gate told me about the new Synthesis shop that opened, and told me to go find the Moogles if I wanted to know more. So I went to go ask the Moogle who hangs around the square, and I tried tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, but I missed and I got his antenna thingy instead. Then _he_ yelled at me, and was going on about how _everyone_ touches his pom pom and he can't _stand_ it and then everyone else started glaring at me again, so Donald explained that it's like against their religious beliefs for other people to touch it, and it was _bad_," Sora summarized. "Now do you believe me?"

Yuffie stared at him. "That _is_ kind of bad," she admitted, "but I'll give you one final test before I decide you're hopeless."

With lightening-fast super-ninja skills, she leaned over and kissed him. Sora stared at her, wide-eyed, but didn't move. Much.

She sighed. "Yeah," Yuffie said, "you're hopeless."

-

challenge: mistake  
words: 659


	8. Stories: Sora, Kairi, Namine, Riku

**Stories  
**

You hold up the book and squint at the faded words on the page (illegible, innumerable, beloved, archaic). One, two, three steps take you off the pavement and onto the grass, and you face the sun as it traverses the gentle sky. (Hush. Hush.)

The water ripples over the sound of the never-stopping trams, ripples into the basin, pours back to the stream and ripples over again. _But soft, what light from yonder window breaks?_ and the words tumble out of your mouth as the sun hits the waterfall in bright rays of light, breaking upon the water, breaking into your reflection, breaking into someone else.

(You don't look up.)

Once upon a time, there was a queen who owned a magic mirror, and she did not see herself in her reflection, either.

-

You are small and weak and innocent and loving.  
You are loved in return and hated more fiercely.  
You are sent away.  
You are called back.  
You are dying, you are healed.  
You are, and were, and will be.

You were small because you were young.  
You were weak because you were tired.  
You were innocent because you were not told not to be.  
You were loving because you could not hate.  
You were loved by those who would hate you and hated by those who would love you.  
You were sent away to come back.  
You were called back because you were sent away.  
You were dying as you slept.  
You were healed as you woke up.  
You were. You will be.

You are.

Once upon a time there was a princess who was put into an enchanted sleep for a long time, and no one could find her.

-

You had everything, once, for you had all the joys that could be afforded to you, in sun and sand and sea, in happiness and laughter and rain and tears and love. You were rich in simplicity, and wanted for nothing, but still reached out for more.

You had everything, but now you have nothing. Your sand is washed out, your sky is black, your sea is treacherous. Your joy and sadness are nothing to you.

_I wish_--

You reach out again (just a little bit further, this time) and find a hand. A heart. A home. You find yourself, and your joys, and it is more than you ever dreamed of.

Once upon a time there was a girl who lost everything, but she made a wish and all her dreams came true.

-

There are giants in the sky.

Your childhood storybook has three torn pages in the middle from when you decided that giants didn't exist, and ripped the pictures up. Fee-fi-fo-fum—and they lived happily ever after. It was a stupid story.

There are giants in the sky.

You've climbed over them and laughed, you, the conquering hero. You, the boy. They shook you off, and you fought them again and you won their riches and their castles and their lives. You didn't believe in them, until they bled on you and blood poured over your bowed head.

Once upon a time, you looked at the sky, where there were no giants.

* * *

challenge: fairy tales  
words: 531  
notes: the inspiration for each were Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Jack and the Beanstalk. 


	9. Road Trip: Hayner, Pence, Olette, Kuzco

**Road Trip**

"...hey guys," Olette calls, "I think I found something."

The animal, if it is possible, looks even more delighted by the sheer sound of her voice. It has even stopped drooling on her hair. Score, she thinks; but then it opens its mouth again and its breath reeks of avocados and fish and all sorts of things that she hates.

"HEY," she repeats. The animal does not move from its position on her stomach. The knobby root that is sticking into her back does not make the situation any pleasanter.

"Whaaaat?" Hayner drawls, leisurely strolling into the jungle clearing. "C'mon, Olette, you keep freakin' out at every little bug-- WHAT THE HECK."

He jumps back and nearly lands on top of Pence, who had been following him, at a considerably faster pace, and points with a trembling finger at the animal, mouth working soundlessly.

"Whoa, what IS that thing?" Pence says, pushing past Hayner. He holds a hand out to it, smiling gently. "Hey, little guy.."

The animal spares him an indignant glance --Olette can breathe again, oh sweet fresh non-avocado-scented air-- and hisses, "No. Touchie."

"I-i-it can TALK," Hayner blinks and promptly adopts a fighting stance. "Who are you and what have you done to Olette!" he demands, shifting his weight front and back, front and back, front and...

"Those are some nice teeth," Pence says appreciatively, but he retracts his hand. The animal smiles in agreement: "Aren't they? All those years of flossing really paid off," it says blissfully. "I won the Best Smile Award three years in a row back in kindergarten, it was awesome -- none of the other kids even had a toothbrush, though, which might have helped, y'know? And--"

"GET IT OFF ME," Olette pleads, attempting to stomp her feet on the ground and failing, due to the sheer weight of furry.. thing that lay on top of her.

"You could have just ASKED," says the animal, sounding a bit put out. It climbs off, and wobbles over to Hayner, who is still swaying in its general direction. ("Finally," Olette groans, sitting up slowly.)

"I don't like your attitude, boy," it warns, its 'boy' sounding like buuuuhhhoyyyy. "You're lucky I'm not in power today, or else something really bad might have happened! Nobody points at the Great Emperor Kuzco like THAT and gets away with it, oh no no," it says, waving its hoof to emphasize the statement.

"Emperor?" Hayner repeats, torn between a smile and outright disbelief.

"You don't look like much of an Emperor," Pence points out.

"Yeah, well, that's a minor detail," the animal snaps. "I'm only a llama for.. uhm, I don't know how long, but I'm gonna get Yzma to change me back to normal. Soon. So watch it, punk."

"Llama?" Pence frowns, tapping his chin. "Have I heard of that before?.."

"So," the llama-- Emperor-- Kuzco says, turning its attention back to Olette. "What's YOUR name, hottie?"

If she didn't know better, she would have sworn it waggled its eyebrow-fur-things at her. But she did know better (she hoped), so she settled for a very displeased look.

"Oh no you don't," Hayner says, and glares.

-

"..I told you not to mess with that ship," Olette says later. "See what you've gotten us into?"

"Shut up," Hayner mumbles in response, placing another bag of ice on his black eye.

Pence, on the other hand, can think only of his camera, growing dusty back in the Usual Spot. If he had known they were going on a trip like this, he'd have taken it with him.

* * *

challenge: none  
words: 599  
notes: .. a small part of the crack!AU that I will never write; inspired partly by the fact that Olette shares a voice actress with a character in 'The Emperor's New School'. 


	10. Dangerous: Sora, Kairi

**Dangerous**

"Well— I—" Sora falters.

"Well?" Kairi repeats.

"It's not that easy!" Sora tries again.

How does he explain this? It isn't something he can just _do_. Besides, he knows that you have to be close, to start with, and they are absolutely not. Kairi is standing in the shallow water, still wearing her skirt over her bathing suit, and he is treading water a little further in.

But then Kairi splashes in, skirt and all, and they're closer, but not too close. He sighs in relief, and suddenly remembers that even Taran and Eilonwy weren't that close when they... Well. _They_ had to be pushed before they did anything, which was the point, and there's always the off chance that Riku or someone could come in and dunk them and then they'd be close. And stuff could happen. It was dangerous.

Sora treads water a little more vigorously.

"Surely you've seen—" Kairi says.

"Of course!" Sora exclaims. Loudly. "It's just. You know."

"No, I don't know," Kairi replies dryly.

She turns onto her back and floats in the water, floating right by him, eyes closed. Her hair fans out in the water, and she looks like she's asleep, like Aurora, who was only woken up by true love's—and he's not going to think about _that_, either. She looks like she's peacefully breathing, without a heart, like she was Back Then.

Sora reaches and abruptly pulls her up towards him. Kairi nearly goes under, sputtering, and squints at him with the one eye that does not have salt water stinging it.

"What was that for?" she demands, a little crossly.

"Don't _do_ that," Sora says earnestly.

Kairi looks down, and he follows her gaze, and realizes that he is still holding her. He turns red under his peeling sunburn and pushes away, momentarily forgetting to kick his legs, and promptly goes under a wave.

"You're so weird, Sora," Kairi sighs, fondly watching him kick his way back up to the surface. "Kissing isn't that big a deal."

* * *

challenge: close to you.  
words: 339 


	11. Doubt: The Beast, Xaldin

**Doubt**

"_You know, you have beautiful eyes when you aren't scowling," Belle says, adjusting the bandage on his arm._

He picked up the mirror, carefully cradling it so as not to scratch it with his claws. He turned his head one way, then another, and surmised that his teeth were still sharp and his face covered with fur. It was the face of a Beast, but his eyes remained human.

"Beautiful eyes..." he mumbled, staring at his reflection.

Someone laughed.

"Who's there?" he growled, whirling around to find the intruder.

A figure in black stood before him, their face hidden by a black hood. They stepped forward, their arms hidden behind their back.

"Why do you waste your time in this way?" the man questioned, voice cold and calm. "Why do you imagine these feelings for her? Such a pretty girl could never love one as ugly as you..."

"Get out!" he snarled.

The cloaked man obliged, fading into the shadows, his laughter echoing cruelly around the room.

The Beast looked once more into the mirror. "Show me the girl," he ordered gruffly, but even the sight of Belle's smiling face did not relieve his doubt.

* * *

Challenge: reflection  
Words: 195


	12. Memories: Riku, Kairi

**Memories**

She was twelve. She was twelve, and he had just turned thirteen – what an age, he could lord over them all now, except for Wakka, who was nearly fourteen – and they were all at the beach. It was the beginning of summer.

He remembered everything about that day – the way they swam until the tides started to change, and raced until they were tired and dry, and how they sat together by the paopu tree to talk about the _remember when_s and _that one time_ before she ever came to the island. She laughed at each and every story they had, her giggles eventually dying down to smiles, and she kept reaching up to pat at her hair. It was cut short, just to her chin.

She was twelve, and he was thirteen, and watching her that day he realized that maybe there was a little more to being thirteen than just being bossy.

-

It was her thirteenth birthday, he was fourteen, and he remembers how they all ate cupcakes until they got sick. Later, they sat outside, nursing tall glasses of soda to soothe their stomachs.

Sora gave her some ribbons, _maybe she could use them for charms, or hair ties, or something_. (She smiles at him, brilliantly, because they are blue, and blue is her favourite colour. Blue like the ocean, or the sky. Or her eyes.)

He gave her (coloured pencils, special ones that he found, just for her-

Stop it, Naminé. I don't want to remember it this way.)

-

She was fourteen, and he was fifteen, and it was nearing the end of summer. Maybe. He didn't know for sure anymore.

She was fourteen, and so much smaller – he could cradle her in his arms, like a doll. She was lifeless, just like a doll. Her eyes would open but she wouldn't look at him, and she had no pulse when her arms would wrap around his neck when he carried her. _Isn't this what you wanted? _the darkness asks, and he doesn't know how to respond.

He'll admit: he wanted her heart, but he didn't want her heartless.

-

He must be sixteen by now, she thinks. How long has he been gone, anyway? It's already summer, and his birthday was in the summer. Or was it? She can't remember.

She has two boys in her head, two voices that both call her name, and both tease her about letting her hair grow long, and want to save her. She wants to save them, though, so they're at a standstill, and no one is saved yet.

Everyone says, _It's just part of being fifteen_. But it isn't, is it? Being fifteen isn't something so easily explained away. He was fifteen when she was heartless, when her heart was with—she can't remember, why can't she remember? Maybe it doesn't matter.

His face is the only one in her mind, now. She can't tell if it's because she only wants to remember Riku, or if it's because she has no one else to remember.

* * *

challenge: none  
words: 510  
notes: written for Jaesprite as a Secret Santa project. :) 


	13. Dreaming: Riku, Stepmother, Cinderella

**When You're Fast Asleep**

".. so you see, Sire, these shadows are more than merely another gypsy story. They have become a threat, and we are quite unprepared to deal with them." The Grand Duke suddenly coughed, polishing his monocle as if it held the key to all their problems, if he could only see through it.

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation," the King interrupted calmly, looking up at the portraits on the walls. "I don't care if a bunch of silly shepherds are scared of their own shadows, so long as they don't bother me about it. The real problem is my _son_."

"Exactly, Sire," said the Duke. "But—"

"He's always chasing fairy tales, and I can't _stand_ it!" howled the King, slamming a fist into the wall. "_I want grandchildren_! He needs to _marry_!"

"But, Sire," pleaded the Duke, still desperately polishing his monocle. "If we do not get rid of these creatures, your son may not have anyone _to_ marry."

The King thought, and slowly nodded in agreement. "First things first, though. Tonight, we'll have a Ball! If that doesn't get people's minds off of this nonsense, I don't know what will. And perhaps my son will find someone to settle down with, hmm?"

-

It hadn't entered anyone's mind that the nightmare shadows could and would still come, even to a Ball. So when Riku was discovered by the night guard, prowling around the gardens (actually killing off a good number of Creepers who considered themselves to be decoration), he quickly found himself enlisted as 'assistant caterer' and forced to attend to the punchbowl, all while keeping an eye out for Maleficent's Princess. Glass after glass after bowl of punch disappeared as every girl in the room came to quench her thirst, all too busy talking about the charming Prince to notice the scowling boy who watched them all.

"Did you hear?" said a particularly ugly one in a hideous pale-seaweed-green dress. "That girl who showed up just now to dance with him is supposed to be a _princess_."

She shoved her glass at Riku, who grimaced at her and refilled it. The ugly girl snatched it back as soon as he was done; and her companion, a tall redhead with a snubby nose, sniffed haughtily.

"Princess or not, I'm sure I act like _twice _the princess she ever could be," boasted the redhead. "Did you see her dress? She must be awfully conceited. It was like—like starlight. No decent person would ever dream of wearing a dress like that."

The ugly one agreed loudly, but the redhead looked a little wistful. Riku watched them go back to the dance floor and looked up at the clock. He only had a few more minutes to go before he could escape.

As soon as the clock struck twelve, he was out of there.

-

"Bring in the slipper, boy," yawned the Duke, unfurling the King's proclamation. The footman who entered looked just as bored, and carried the pillow that cushioned the glass slipper as if it were no more important than a tray laden with some particularly abhorrent food.

For the first time, Lady Tremaine began to doubt herself. Did she really want a daughter of hers to marry into a family that had such ill-trained servants? They didn't seem to realize aristocracy when they saw it, either, judging by the way in which the Duke and his servant were treating her daughters. Perhaps the girls _were_ somewhat... overeager, but they had good reason to be, with so much at stake.

She was absolutely convinced of their ignorance when they addressed Cinderella with utter politeness, if not outright awe. The footman, though his silver hair belied his youthful face, was especially smug; and she felt no remorse in tripping him as he approached.

But of course, that girl had to be the one. Such a pure heart, a kind soul – it made her sick. No one seemed to realize that the girl was a sneak and a liar, underneath all her innocence. The Duke fawned on her, the footman smirked, her daughters sobbed, and the girl remained oblivious, right until they escorted her out the door.

-

"Come on, Princess," the pale-haired boy said kindly, leading her out to the Duke's carriage. She felt as if she was walking on a dream, although she still wore one glass slipper, but hastened to correct him.

"Oh, I'm not a princess," she laughed. "At least, not yet, I guess."

Suddenly, she noticed the yellow eyes that surrounded them. The shadows weaved their way closer to them, and she clung to the boy in fear. He turned to her and smiled, green eyes cold, and his grip on her arm grew even tighter.

And then they fell into darkness.

* * *

challenge: none  
words: 802  
notes: Well, I always wondered how Cinderella ended up in Hollow Bastion. Singing mice and Heartless just don't seem to mesh. 


	14. Small Surprises: Sora, Ariel, Melody

**Small Surprises**

There were so many things wrong with this picture, Sora was beginning to realize.

First, he had been fully convinced that his days of underwater performing were over. He had certainly never expected to be made part of yet another musical extravaganza, especially not since he was fully human this time around. Even though the guest of honor wouldn't really notice anything, part of him kind of wanted to show off his (much improved) magic skills, but the other part wanted nothing to do with the whole deal, especially since he was absolutely unwilling to sing a solo in front of Kairi.

Then, after the initial shock had worn off, he had begun to backtrack and try and figure out how long it had been since his last visit. It couldn't have been a year yet, right? Besides which, he was certain that he remembered hearing Sebastian complain about how stubborn Ariel had been ever since she turned sixteen sometime last year. That meant that she was probably about Riku's age by now. And these things just didn't happen when you were only...

All he wanted to do was to go and find a nice, quiet corner and try to figure everything out. And yet, Ariel still stood there, expectantly cradling a bundle of blankets and cooing noises in her arms.

"Well, do you want to hold her, or not?" she demanded.

* * *

challenge: mother  
words: 232 


	15. Confessions: Riku, Namine

**Confessions**

Riku's confession: he never really did feel sorry for Pinocchio. Sure, a little remorseful, maybe, for having caused so many problems. But not actually sorry. After all, the kid wasn't even really alive, even though Sora was convinced that the little wooden guy could feel.

And as far as he could tell, no lasting harm was done. It wasn't like he had set him on fire. The puppet and his dad escaped, and they lived happily ever after.

But something about the whole thing still bothered him.

"I guess you shouldn't feel sorry for things that aren't alive," Naminé murmurs.

* * *

challenge: puppet  
words: 100 


	16. Waiting: Alice, Princesses of Heart

**Waiting**

Glass coffins that serve as prison cells. Shadows that leap up and try to claw out your heart. These are the landmarks of a new world, a world away from all the other Worlds that you know of.

There was a witch, at one time. You remember seeing a cloak melt into green fire; some remember a cruel face, or cackling laughter. The only one who hasn't mentioned anything is the lovely girl who hasn't woken up yet.

So you wait. You make small talk, as best you can. There isn't any weather to depend on, but you talk about how chilly it is. If this is a castle, like in fairy-tales and history, it isn't very impressive.

The practical beauty who had gone to explore returns some time later. You listen politely as she explains about the secret passage to an enormous library. She shows the book she has brought with her, and you read that you are not just in a world, but a World, although it had fallen into darkness. None of you have heard of such a thing before.

It's strange, and wonderful, but more than ever, you want to go home.

You much prefer Wonderland.

* * *

challenge: wonderland  
words: 200 


	17. Sights and Smells: Sora, Donald, Goofy

**Sights and Smells**

Fourteen years old and his world torn away, Sora never stopped wishing to just go home. The adventures were nice, and of course he had to find Kairi, and get Riku to stop being a jerk and just listen for once in his life, but he was still painfully homesick.

The worst were those early mornings when he desperately wanted-_eyes closed so tightly to hold onto the dream for just one minute more_- to wake up to pancakes and coffee and the violet-scented smell of his mother shaking him awake.

-

"Sora."

Sora turned his face into his pillow, and closed his eyes more tightly against the light that was shining on him. He could smell it, that mixture of violets and coffee and warmth that meant home, and it wasn't too far away.

Donald and Goofy looked back at the sleeping boy from the cockpit of the Gummi Ship.

"Gawrsh, Donald, he looks so peaceful," Goofy said, absent-mindedly stirring his coffee. "Maybe we should just let him sleep."

"Yeah," Donald grumbled. "I just wish he wasn't using my new scarf for a pillow."

"Daisy didn't mind letting him use it and she's the one who made it, so maybe you shouldn't either," Goofy suggested.

"I bet he'll drool on it," Donald muttered, but he didn't mention it again.

* * *

challenge: home  
words: 218 


	18. One Fine Day: Repliku, Larxene, Namine

**One Fine Day**

_Elle est belle, belle à mourir  
Belle à choisir  
Un jour de mourir pour elle._**  
**

Riku is in love. It hits him, suddenly, like a bolt of inspiration from somewhere in a blue sky _that he knows is out there, even if he's never seen it_. He's in _love_, one hundred percent, sweaty-palms-quickened-pulse-bright-red-ears, the works.

He feels freer, somehow. As if his heart had been chained up tight, a prisoner in a lonely cell, and someone finally came along and gave him the key. And the chains fell off, just like that.

The marble flowers in the hallway seem so real that he can almost smell them. There's colour, there, beyond the white and white and white that goes on and on in each direction, and he's going to reach for it with everything he has. It's yellow hair and blue eyes and a box of crayons, and a gentle voice that resonates in his very soul.

Now Riku has a purpose to his existence. Everything he's done _everything he'll ever do_ is out of love, just for her.

He watches Sora climb higher and thinks – If I had to, I would even die for her.

-

"You look like you're in love," Larxene says, smirking at him.  
"What's it to you?" he shoots back, slouching away.  
"Hope you don't get your heart broken, kiddo," Larxene calls after him.  
He turns back to face her. "That won't happen."  
"You seem awfully sure about that," Larxene marvels.  
"Because it's the real thing," he says.

-

Later, Riku lets himself think about Larxene's words. Later, when Naminé sits and draws with trembling hands, ocean and trees and a boy fishing by the coast appearing in wobbly brown outlines. He feels himself becoming angrier by the second, and wonders how they dared to make her sad.

He reaches up and gently strokes her hair. She flinches as he touches her, and the tree she was sketching turns into a squiggly bridge, but she continues to draw. Her hair is really soft.

"Listen, Naminé," Riku says. "I'm going to protect you from now on."

Naminé chokes back a sob. "You dropped something," she says quietly.

Riku looks down and picks up the charm. He doesn't remember dropping it, or even picking it up in the first place. Maybe it belongs to Naminé. Before he can ask, or even move, she carefully reaches over and closes his hand with her own.

"Keep it safe," she whispers.

Her words act as a catalyst, and his hand moves on its own, carefully putting the charm in his pocket. If she really wants him to have it, the least he can do is take care of it.

"Thanks," he says. After all, it's from her, so it's precious.

-

Finally (_finally_) he leaves. You can breathe again, a sigh of relief.

You mark the picture you were working on with a small x. It had served its purpose, and there was no point in finishing it. You turn the page.

It's one of your best works, you've heard. Two children watch the sky fall, and the boy offers his hand so that the girl won't be too scared. She gives him her most treasured possession. It's a beautiful memory, and the boy will always treasure it.

Sometimes, you wish that it was real.

(Mostly, you wish you didn't have to do this.)

-

Riku's always heard that love makes you do strange things, so he doesn't think about how he's changed. How he can't remember a life outside of the castle, even though he has so many memories about his childhood. How he spends most of his free time looking at his good luck charm from Naminé.

Ever since he realized he was in love with her, he's felt like he has a purpose. He can jump faster, move more quickly. The darkness comes to him easily, as if the chains that had been holding it back were suddenly taken away. And it's all because of her.

Riku knows that he's in love. And no matter what anyone says, it's the real thing.

-

In the end, Larxene was right.

-

_She's beautiful, beautiful to die for  
Beautiful to choose, one day  
To die for her._

* * *

challenge: belle  
words: 676  
notes: Inspired by a quote from the French musical Romeo et Juliette. 


	19. Wanted: DiZ, Twilight Town

**Wanted**

No one knew what to make of the posters that had mysteriously appeared in the night. Three on each bulletin board, carefully pasted on, red crayon letters spelling out WANTED on the top of each one.

They had appeared on the first day of summer vacation, but it soon became clear that none of the students were responsible.

"It has to be a joke," the shopkeepers scoffed, talking privately. "Who would actually advertise for _hearts_?"

But no one dared take them down.

-

A few brave souls came to the Old Mansion to inquire, and DiZ received them all graciously.

"I believe that nothing lasts forever," he told them all, "and you may call me a nihilist if you wish, but I believe that I am merely being practical."

He showed them a simulation of the beach, not too far away, looking just as crisp and clear as it ever did. "My theory has been put into practice in many such towns," DiZ exaggerated – most people considered the Radiant Gardens a world, after all. "Having a data copy will ensure the longevity of this charming place."

"So what exactly do you need from us?" a shopkeeper asked, suspicious.

DiZ smiled briefly, pulling the torn shreds of Ansem the Wise around himself, and said, "Your heart."

Each one who came listened, nodded, and promised to think about it. Maybe. They would come back later, once they had decided. It was a fairly difficult decision, giving up your heart.

DiZ allowed himself the luxury of being more optimistic than he had been in years, and privately told Riku that it was, overall, a wild success.

Naminé, meanwhile, sat by the pods, and drew Sora's sleeping face. To remember him by.

-

And they came back. They came back by the dozens, by the droves. Young and old alike crowded into the Old Mansion. By now everyone had heard the true purpose of the advertisements. They were just as likely to throw DiZ out of town as to listen to him.

DiZ accepted their questions with the same calm manner as the day before, giving rational, intelligent answers.

"Is it permanent?" asked a worried mother. No. It's just a data backup.

"Is it harmful?" asked an elderly man, from the junk yard. No. Nothing will happen to you.

"So what happens if we do let our hearts become data?" asked Jessie, the accessory shop girl. "What happens to the rest of us?"

"You sleep," DiZ said. Again, he showed them the simulations. This time, low murmurs went through the crowd, equal parts appreciation and wonderment and fear.

Three eager teenagers volunteered to be the first. DiZ regarded them with some misgiving, but finally agreed.

"Yes," he said, "I think you'll do quite well."

-

DiZ watched them climb into the pods and fall asleep, as their heart transferred to data.

Dreaming, they did all the things they always wished they could do. They climbed to the very top of the clock tower, and didn't fall. They ate all the ice cream they wanted, and didn't get stomachaches. When Seifer and his gang finally showed up, they taunted him for having been too scared to come beforehand.

A blond haired boy appeared one day, and Hayner said "So you're new too, huh?" and he forgot he had said anything the next day, because they'd _always_ been there.

Especially Roxas.

-

When they woke up, they forgot anything had ever happened. Summer vacation was over, after all, and there were other things to think about.

The shopkeepers took down all the posters. "What a silly prank," they complained.

No one ever saw the mysterious man in red again.

* * *

challenge: loose ends  
words: 613  
notes: ... won at khdrabble. 


	20. Learn: Sora, Jiminy, and A Dragoon

**Learn To Do It**

Some things come easier than others. There_ are_ other worlds, there _is _a Santa Claus, there _is_ magic – those are pure, cold facts. Understanding what makes a Nobody was a little harder. Things like Ansem and Xehanort and Ansem really being Xehanort's Heartless were even more complicated.

But this was pretty much ridiculous, Sora decided, narrowly evading yet another attack by the Dragoon.

"Sora," Jiminy said from somewhere inside his hood, sounding tired. "_Learn_. Please."

"Learn _what_?" Sora wailed, as the Dragoon managed to land a hit. "There's no pattern to its' attacks! And it's way too fast!"

"I'm going to be sick," Jiminy murmured.

Sora quickly glanced around. Donald and Goofy seemed to be holding their own just fine, and it probably wouldn't be long before they could make it out of the Castle. It seemed that he was the only holdup, which was just peachy.

The Dragoon decided to take advantage of his distraction, and rushed towards him again, its lance pointed straight at him.

"Jump on it, Sora!" Goofy called helpfully from across the room, and proceeded to do just that.

Sora gripped the Keyblade a little more tightly, and _launched_.

….and crashed head first into a stone pillar.

The Dragoon, if it was possible, suddenly appeared to be very smug.

* * *

challenge: learn  
words: 214 


	21. Do You Believe In Magic?: Daisy, Donald

**Do You Believe In Magic?**

A lot of people don't understand why she chose him. That uncontrollable temper! His greedy tendencies! His complete lack of punctuality! Certainly no match for a Princess.

But of course, he had his good qualities, too. He was unquestionably loyal to his friends. He was dedicated to his art. She had seen him practice for hours on end, trying to master as many spells as he could, because he wanted to be the best he could be.

And she didn't mind letting him practice on her. He made frozen ponds for them to ice skate in the winter, and hot fires to roast marshmallows and heat up hot cocoa. When there was a thunderstorm, and she was frightened of the lightning, he chased it away with his own magic. And when she twisted her ankle when she and the Queen were running outside, he cured it for her.

But why _would_ she choose him? The answer is simple: Of course she didn't choose him.

Daisy wouldn't _ever_ choose someone like him.

Donald enchanted her heart away, that's all.

* * *

challenge: enchantment  
words: 178  
notes: I love the Disney characters. :3 


	22. Pros and Cons: Axel, Sora, Donald, Goofy

**Pros and Cons**

Technically, Axel wasn't supposed to be here.

The Oblivion Project was supposed to have been led entirely by the higher-ups. But at the last moment Xigbar went world-hopping and couldn't be reached, and Xaldin had been sent to babysit Roxas so that he wouldn't ask questions. Naturally, the Superior couldn't leave.

After great deliberation, the Superior had asked Axel if he wouldn't like to oversee XI and XII. Of course, officially, he was being sent to help Marluxia, as he owned Castle Oblivion, but it was really a surveillance mission to make sure they weren't planning anything.

And since Axel wasn't technically supposed to be here, maybe that was why it was all so _boring_. He had taken to breaking the crystal flowers that were everywhere and watching them magically grow back. It was more interesting than watching the other people he was stuck with, as all they ever did was argue, and sometimes fight. But mostly argue.

"I'M YOUR ELDER, AND I DESERVE RESPECT!" Vexen howled.

"YOU'RE AN OBNOXIOUS OLD MAN!" Larxene bawled.

(_Crash_, as Axel broke yet another vase.)

"I demand that you both be SILENT!" Marluxia thundered.

Lexaeus glowered menacingly, and Zexion loudly slammed his book shut.

"Okay," Axel said to no one in particular, backing into a Portal. "I'm going to go check on Sora."

-

"Hey, check it out!" Sora called from down the long hallway.

Donald and Goofy exchanged a worried look.

"Heartless?" Donald wondered.

"Nah, he sounds too excited for that," Goofy reasoned. "It must be something else."

Without another word, Donald took off running down the hall, Goofy close behind him. Who knew what Sora had managed to find in this weird place?

They found him crouched down in front of a long, flat object on wheels. Cautiously, Sora reached out, and pushed the object forwards.

"It _moves_," he breathed, eyes wide. "How cool is this?!"

Donald and Goofy exchanged yet another look, more exasperated than worried this time. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Sora was just a kid, after all.

"I wonder if it would hold my weight," Sora said, and promptly tried to jump on it, only managing to kick it away.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, Sora," Goofy said kindly. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt, now."

But Sora wasn't listening. He had gotten one foot on the board, and was slowly pushing himself along with his other foot, wobbling as he went.

"Hey, it's working!" he said excitedly.

"Sora.." Donald muttered, and grumbled as he began to look for an extra Potion.

Sora was completely oblivious to his surroundings. He had begun to balance better, and could even veer off to the side. He began to push himself along more quickly, building up speed, and carefully put his other foot up—

…. and fell off to the side, the flat object flying into a vase, which shattered into glass.

"Whoa," Sora said faintly.

"I hope we don't have to pay for that," Goofy murmured.

Without another word, they hurried up the stairs to the next floor.

-

Hidden behind an ornately decorated marble pillar (which, if he had to look at much longer, he would probably break, too), Axel tried to keep himself from bursting into laughter at the sight. He had forgotten that the skateboard had been left there, after he had given Roxas a tour of the Castle.

Maybe he should put a skateboard on every floor, he thought.

If Sora kept putting on shows like this, he'd definitely come and watch them all.

* * *

challenge: the show must go on  
words: 595 


	23. The First Box: Pongo, Perdita

**The First Box**

It was all _that woman's_ fault.

She'd taken their darlings away from them, and even though they looked and looked they couldn't find them anywhere. They had run for miles, searching and calling right along with the others who were doing their best to get the message along. _Our babies are missing!_ they yelped and howled.

They kept going even when the other voices faded away with the twilight. They had been so close! And they didn't know where to stop. Everything was getting dark. Sometimes they thought of their pets, back home, and wondered how they were getting along in all the gloom. Were they being walked enough? Were they eating properly?

But they couldn't go back. Not without their own dear ones, not until they were found and safe and warm and bathed again. And they had almost passed right by them, only glancing at the yard full of shipping crates, when they'd seen a little black tail hanging out of one and that cruel person loading them into a truck. Her fur was dirtier than they'd ever seen it before.

And then _that woman_ had appeared and she'd smelled all _wrong_. She made all the darkness break into pieces, little crawling ones that oozed all over the cruel woman's furs. They had run to the boxes, snarling at the dark, and tried to open them, whining.

_Mother!_ cried a little voice from inside.

They didn't like to think about that, much.

The new place had a place for them to stay, and keep nice. They tidied up the pillows on the sofa for their new pet to use, and found nice spots for themselves on the floor. It didn't seem right to use sofas and beds when their poor darlings only had boxes and dusty old rooms.

Sometimes they found things outside, bits that smelled like they'd been too long in the dark, or chewy pieces that tasted terrible. They kept these inside, and thought that they might be a good present for their pet, once they went home.

The new pet did his best to keep them from being lonely. He was so like their old pets, sometimes, in the way that he would pretend he understood what they said. _We want to find our puppies_, they told him, _that woman took them away from us_, and he'd pet them and nod.

One day he came in with a boy, carrying a box like the ones they'd seen before. "I think this is yours," he said. There were six puppies asleep inside, but they weren't _theirs_. They were someone else's babies. Someone else had lost them, and their darlings were lost, and maybe someone else had theirs...

But the poor thing had tried so hard to help them, and so they wagged their tails and gave him one of the horrible chewy things. He was only a pet, after all, and so it was unfair to think that he would understand. And these were only babies, after all, and it wasn't their fault that they weren't the right ones.

_Mother_? said one of the puppies, sleepily, starting to wake up.

They looked at each other, mournfully. What to _do_ with them?

_Shh, darling_, said Mother. _Go back to sleep._

_But I'm scared of the dark_, the puppy whimpered.

_Listen to your mother_, said Father. _Everything will be fine._

* * *

**challenge**: misery loves company  
**words:** 562  
**notes**: won at khdrabble. 


	24. Inner Mind Theatre: Fuu

**Inner Mind Theatre**

Fuu wasn't dumb. Well, she _was_, in a sense, but it had nothing to do with her intelligence. It was simply her choice. She'd learned what happened when you were all talk, nothing to back it up.

Like that time when Rai wouldn't shut up about his stupid crush on Jessie, but couldn't seem to manage a single word around her. The most beautiful girl _ever_, y'know? and he turned into some sort of gaping fish. All his gaping did was result in a week of tears when it turned out that she was already going out with Biggs.

Or when Hayner would come and get in Seifer's face, vowing to defeat him in the next Struggle match. Sometimes, when they were bored, Seifer would ask how he, being a loser, planned to do that; and they would watch Hayner blow up before Olette came to persuade him to go to something _useful_ for once in his life.

Too much talk just got on Fuu's nerves. She could sympathize with people like those strangers in the marketplace she once saw, neither of whom seemed to want to be there. The taller man kept musing about the peculiarity of sweets in Twilight Town and how intriguing their tastes were and how he wondered about the society's development and finally the other man told him to just _buy_ the stupid ice cream if he wanted to and stop analyzing it like he was some sort of_scientist_, it's just freaking _ice_ and the other one had given him the most pathetic glare ever. And they didn't buy a thing, in the end.

The worst possible example she could think of was when she had gotten really bad cramps at school last year and Pence had come over and tried to be friendly, going on and on about how good her essay was, and oh what a nice day it was today, the way the sun was setting, and all she could think of was how he had had a chocolate bar in his lunch and she'd never wanted to strangle anyone so badly before in her life. She'd told him to shut up, and ever since then he hasn't said a single word. She meant to be nice, later, and show she didn't really mean it, but since he wasn't talking...

Fuu never said more than was absolutely necessary, if she could help it. Out loud, anyway. There wasn't any point to it.

Privately, though, she talked to herself all the time.

* * *

**challenge:** monologue  
**words:** 416 


	25. Aging Gracefully: Sora

**Aging Gracefully**

Sora is fourteen and has just saved the world. He fills the darkness with light, ridding the worlds of Heartless, leaving happy endings in his wake. He lives in a world of heroes and villains, magic and sword, and delights in finding himself a hero. Although he is given warnings that perhaps he is not the peace-bringer he thinks himself to be, he disregards them; because he knows that where the Keyblade leads, good must follow.

_Sora is still fourteen and has forgotten that there is a world to save. His key opens doors and is useful for fighting off the threatening shadows, but he doesn't remember where it came from. _

Sora is fifteen and has just put the world in terrible danger. He finds himself chained to the Organization, his steps tracked and path plotted out for their benefit. Each swing of the Keyblade tips the scales in their favor as he unlocks heart after heart for their use; and with each well-meaning step, he shatters what peace remains, bringing the worlds closer to ruin. But he cannot break away from them, just as he cannot leave Riku behind, or forget Kairi, or abandon his duty as the Keybearer.

-

* * *

**challenge**: irony  
**words**: 200  
**notes**: this was actually probably the third or fourth KH-related drabble I ever wrote, but I apparently forgot to upload it! whoops 


	26. Miscommunication: Simba, Sora

**Miscommunication**

"You tricked me," he said morosely.

The boy was upside-down, and his face mostly covered by a sort of vegetable, but his feet were in plain view. He concentrated on those, staring up with wide, imploring eyes.

"Not really," the boy said, voice shaking with suppressed amusement. "You weren't supposed to eat that much candy, Simba."

"You said it was a treat," he accused, growling. Another pang of agony gripped his stomach, and he rolled onto his other side, helplessly stretching his paws in the air.

He didn't like this world. It was a painful affair, fighting here.

And Sora just laughed.

-

* * *

**challenge**: trick or treat  
**words**: 100  
**notes**: This is also really old! as in, from last year. I always really liked Halloweentown, to be quite honest; and this seemed really fitting for the theme. 


	27. Vertigo: Sora, Kairi

**Vertigo**

It all started that day, at lunch:

"Can you teach me how to fight?" Kairi said suddenly.

Sora and Riku both turned to look at her, surprised; Riku's waterbottle on the verge of tipping from his fingers, Sora's sandwich dangling from his mouth.

"I'm serious," Kairi insisted, hugging her knees to her chest. "If something ever happens again, I want to be able to _help_. Really help. Not just swinging a stick around kind of help."

"Let Sora do it," Riku said finally, twisting the cap back onto his waterbottle. "He's had more experience teaching people than I have."

"Have not!" Sora protested through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Have too," Riku countered. "You spent a really long time working with Hayner on Struggling, right? It's the same thing. Besides, I'm busy."

"You aren't ever busy!" Sora yelped.

"Okay," Riku said decisively. "_Fine_. Listen. I bet that you can't possibly teach Kairi how to fight in one week."

Sora considered the challenge.

"You're on!" he said, and Kairi beamed.

-

Later, on the Island:

"Better," Sora said approvingly, watching Kairi attack the palm tree, lunging and feinting. "Okay. So what if it was a Large Body?"

"I'd sneak up on it from behind," Kairi said, pausing her one-sided battle. "And if it jumps, I'd jump out of the way."

She demonstrated, running around to the back of the tree, and giving the trunk one good whack. A coconut fell down, and she tossed it over to the side for them to break open later.

"Right, right," Sora said. "So you've snuck up on it. But what happens if there's another one?"

"Where?" Kairi said. Then, "Oof!"

"I'm sorry!" Sora said frantically. Kairi lay flat on her back on the sand, scowling.

"You didn't need to run into me _that_ hard, Sora."

"I didn't mean to knock you down, honest… Here."

He reached down to help her up. Kairi took his hand, grinning mischievously, and pulled. Sora stumbled, caught off balance, and toppled onto the sand.

Next thing he knew, he was lying almost on top of her, and his nose just brushed hers. Kairi looked up at him with wide blue eyes, and he could see his reflection in them. She had really long eyelashes, he noticed suddenly.

"Er," Sora said. "I— "

"No, it's—" Kairi said.

Sora sat up, and Kairi followed suit.

"I don't think that's a good battle technique, after all," she sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Depends on the battle," Sora said automatically, and turned bright red.

-

The next day:

"…almost," Sora said finally. "You just need to turn your hip out more. You should be facing _away_ from your opponent when you block, okay?"

"Got it," Kairi said, raising her Keyblade higher.

"Right, look out!" Sora warned, running towards her again.

At the last moment, she managed to twist and raise her Keyblade up enough to block his. But the movement had thrown her off-balance, and she spun into Sora's arms, throwing her arms around his neck to catch herself. He threw out his arms to keep her from falling down completely.

"Whoa, you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Kairi said, tilting her face up to look at him.

For a moment, they stood there, awkwardly. Kairi's arms were still wrapped around Sora's neck, and he was holding her tightly. He was really warm, she noticed. It was.. nice.

"Don't scare me like that," he said, smiling nervously.

"Sorry," said Kairi.

-

The end of the week came sooner than expected.

"So Air Soldiers basically dive at you?" Kairi said, imitating the motion Sora had been making. "Like that?"

"Mmm, yeah," Sora said. "But faster, like this." He jumped off of a palm trees and landed just near the edge of the island.

"That?" Kairi repeated, jumping over, and making a guarding motion with her hands.

"No, like—"

With a shriek, they both toppled over the edge and into the water. Gasping, Kairi came up for air, Sora following her with a splash.

"You pushed me!" he said.

"You pushed _me_," she said doubtfully, treading water.

Sora spat out water, like a fish, and Kairi laughed until he joined in. They swam back to the shore and clambered onto the beach, flopping down on the sand to dry off.

"Thanks for everything, Sora," Kairi said finally, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

Sora rolled onto his side, propping his head on his hand so that he could look at her more easily. "No problem."

Kairi's eyes closed for a moment, her eyelashes distinctly visible on her pale face, still covered in droplets of water. Her hair was wet and stringy, but it still had a reddish sheen in the light. Her lips were parted slightly, and he could almost feel her breath on his face again.

Well, Sora thought, it's now or never.

"Hey, Kairi," he said, and leaned over just as she opened her eyes.

She kissed him first.

-

* * *

**challenge**: none  
**words**: 833  
**notes**: Written for str1, as a Secret Santa project. :)  



	28. Acts of Kindness: Namine

**Acts of Kindness**

Chain links fall to the floor, sink into darkness, one two three separated and never coming back. Cid and Yuffie and Leon have just found more important things to do with their time than to remember a short cheerful boy.

Naminé tugs on the chain of Sora's memories, fingers delicately wrapped around it, and almost manages to break the fourth link. Aerith will be harder to break, she thinks, because her memories are wrapped up with her own second sense.

She touches her chest, the hollow spot where she can almost feel the fluttering of a heartbeat that isn't hers.

-

Nobodies are different. They cannot feel emotion. They have no heart.

Naminé is different. She has a Somebody; she shares a Somebody with somebody else. With every chain link she breaks, she feels something in her far-away heart breaking, too. It's like waking up from a dream, and forgetting everything you dreamt.

-

Naminé used to love coloured pencils. She could draw so many details with them, thin lines, thicker shadows. They blended beautifully. Watercolors were beautiful, too, how all you needed was a little bit of paint and a lot of water for the colour to splash onto the page. She had pastels, once, but they smeared all over her paper and fingertips and dress, smudging together into black shadows, and she hid them underneath her bed.

She still has some supplies left, a box of materials that she snuck out of Castle Oblivion. But she doesn't use them anymore.

She and Riku went to Twilight Town, for DiZ. Crayons, he pointed out, as they walked by the streets of Station Heights, I used to have those when I was a kid, and he bought them for her.

She draws Destiny Islands first, as the bright sandy shores of the play island leave her mind. For each link she breaks, there is a picture to draw. Sometimes she gets it out on paper on time, quick lines and blocky colours making just enough of a shape to be recognizable. Sometimes she doesn't. She can't remember anymore.

Sora doesn't wake up.

-

Roxas looks afraid, as he runs from The World That Never Was and away from the Heartless that pursue him. Little by little, DiZ covers up his memory with school days and Struggle fights and people he has never really met, new scenes flashing on the monitor. Roxas doesn't want to forget. His expression becomes more and more worried with every new wave of dark shadows leaping at him, as every time the wave gives way to another sloppy lunge of a Struggler.

Naminé sits quietly and watches DiZ work until he orders her away, you're distracting me, send Riku in.

_Dark black cloak running from dark waves of shadows bluepinkgreen fluorescent lights from the distant city shining through the pouring rain—_

She tears off a piece of tape, tacking the drawing onto her wall. Roxas will have forgotten by now. Her drawing is rushed, crayon lines thick and confused. But the feeling is there. The emotion. She won't _let_ him forget, not _this_, not _ever_.

-

Quickly, she tries to think of a plan. DiZ must know by now that she went to see Roxas. He could interrupt them at any time. Words would be useless.

She once gave Sora a memory of looking at her sketchbook when they were both very young. She didn't usually let anyone see it, but he was special, and she even drew him a picture of his very own.

The box of crayons, each one worn nearly to a stub, spills onto the table. Blue green brown red lines scribbled hastily onto the paper and—

(Later, after time has stopped, Roxas walks around the white room, examining all the pictures Naminé had drawn (something in him quietly protests: Didn't she draw better than this? How would he know, he reasons, and moves on.)

He sees Axel in the sharp black and red shape on the paper in the corner. The happy whirl of colours and childish expressions is Sora and his friends.

He leans over and sees a black cloak fleeing a black shadow in the night as the rain falls.

Roxas leaves.

Naminé is waiting.)

* * *

**challenge:** gestures  
**words:** 707  
**notes:** Alternate title: Why Naminé Uses Crayons To Draw With. 


	29. Everything's Fine: Prince Eric

**Everything's Fine**

When he was young, he would go to the cove and look out at the ocean. It was vast, infinite. He stood on the edge of a hundred different worlds, all connected by the same flowing water. He wanted to see them all someday.

He started to build a raft, but his parents caught him before he could leave. Perhaps you ought to learn navigation before you go exploring, they said. They took him to the cove again, at night.

His parents pointed out the stars, sparkling high above. _Every star is a different world_, his mother told him, _and on that world, we're just another star. The sky is what connects us all_, said his father.

He remembers looking out at the ocean, thinking, I don't need to look up for the stars, they're all in the water. I can see every one of them, and if I reach out I could hold them in my hands.

-

He grew older, wiser. He learned how to sail. His parents no longer hovered over him, pointing out the stars, one by one, until he knew what each one was. His days became filled with sandy beaches and good company and the hot sun shining on his back as he worked.

His first voyage out to sea had been with his father. His second was in his father's stead, his mother's love locked into the pendant around his neck. His third was by himself. His fifth voyage was marked by storm clouds gathering and his friends disappearing into dark depths of water while lights tore apart the sky, and something brushed against his leg as he tried to reach the surface.

He remembers pausing by the marketplace the day he left. _I can't sell this_, the fishmonger had said, gesturing to the largest fish in the pile. _They dissolve when you put a knife in them, and shock you if you get too close. I've never seen this before. _

-

In the cove, he found a girl washed up on the beach, her red hair tangled. She smelled like sea salt and driftwood and the sun on the horizon. She didn't know her name. She didn't know where she was from. She couldn't tell him, even if she wanted to.

She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, and gave him back the pendant he thought had been lost forever to the bottom of the sea, and he forgot the questions he meant to ask.

-

He spends the day walking with the ethereal girl along the shores.

"I'm not very good at conversation," he admits, and she smiles encouragingly until he remembers things he didn't know he remembered. So he tells her how the oceans lead to other worlds. He tells her how someone rescued him, that stormy night, how he remembers nothing but a sweet voice and a soft hand on his face, and the waves washing up against the cove.

"Do you remember your home?" he asks. She slips a trusting hand into his, and takes him back to the cove. She points to the ocean.

_Somewhere out there is another world_, she tells him silently, _and I know you'll find it_.

-

it's as if a dark cloud's been pulled across the sky, blocking the stars and the moon  
nothing but the fog rolling over the ocean  
someone sings to him, longingly and all he wants is to listen and never wake up  
never be a prince again  
never  
ever  
and the light broke through –

-

He finds himself with a harpoon in his hands and an enchanting song echoing in his ears, the strange girl (Ariel, Ariel, he'll never forget her name) struggling in the water against the sea witch he'd never really believed existed.

_Mermen _existed. There was one fighting right in front of his eyes, with fish and turtles and who knows what else. An entire world he always knew was out there, just beyond his grasp, right _there_. But the witch's taunting doesn't matter, the myths don't matter, the only thing he can see is red hair and pale skin and wide blue eyes and he never wants to lose them again.

All that matters is Ariel, and he holds the key to unlocking the happy ending to their tale. All he has to do is reach it.

-

When he was young, he would go to the cove and look out at the ocean. It was vast, infinite. He stood on the edge of a hundred different worlds, all connected by the same flowing water. He wanted to see them all someday.

"I did, too," Ariel says. "But I'm happy here."

"Me too," Eric says, and finds that he means it.

-

* * *

**challenge**: underappreciated characters  
**words**: 790  
**notes**: One factor of uploading these here that I'm not particularly fond of is how I tend to classify drabbles by characters. This one was purposely written to make you think of someone else (popular answers included Riku, Sora, and Someone's Dad, Maybe? up until the last few paragraphs), but like this... not so much. What do you think? Should I keep specifying which characters are in each drabble, or just leave it up to reader's intuition? 


	30. Priorities: Selphie

**Priorities**

It's the last day of summer vacation, and Selphie isn't sure what to wear. She wiggles her toes against the bare floor, staring into her closet. Her favourite yellow dress stares back at her from its hanger, and her jump rope is hanging off a hook in the back next to her brand new school uniform.

The school uniform is part of the new and improved all-grown-up Selphie, the one who's supposed to meet up with Kairi later on to go buy school supplies. Maybe they'll get ice cream. She and Kairi haven't seen each other for a while, and the other girl's seemed removed ever since Riku left. Selphie privately thinks that moping over a boy for a year is a little extreme, but she'd never tell her that.

She pulls out the yellow dress, and holds it against herself. Maybe they could go to the island, she thinks. She hasn't been for weeks, not since the boys started practice, and last time she went she spent an hour fighting off an imaginary enemy (a fierce knight with a sword, who always snuck up on her from behind) with her jump rope, until she felt like an idiot and went home.

Selphie looks at her reflection and feels like a little girl playing dress up in reverse. The yellow dress hangs entirely too far above her knees to be appropriate. Kairi never liked fighting, anyway, she realizes, and her boat's probably gone creaky from disuse.

The dress goes back in the closet. She pulls on another dress, a newer one, and kicks on an old pair of sandals that are falling apart, with sand in every crevice. She should get a new pair while she's out.

"Not bad," she says aloud, admiring herself in the mirror. She grabs her purse, munny jingling, and sets out. After all, the island isn't going anywhere just because it's the end of summer vacation.

-

* * *

**challenge:** style  
**words: **321


	31. Otherworld: Cloud, Hades

**Otherworld**

Cloud feels like he hasn't slept in weeks. Maybe he hasn't. Whenever he closes his eyes, all he can see are the same nightmarish images cropping up. Worlds falling into darkness. Aerith, dying, as he stabs her in the back.

Ever since he got caught in that fading world, he hasn't felt the same. He tries not to think of the darkness scrabbling around him, little claws reaching for his heart, tugging; the way he hungered to join them (whispering, _mine, mine now_), just for a moment, before something pulled him back. He's been empty. Half missing.

He's lost his purpose, he realizes. He's lost his sense of self, his history. All he has are nightmare claws and Aerith's body sinking into a pool of water as he watches; visions laced with black feathers and darkness.

He's lost his light.

Hades faces him, Death reaching out a gentle hand. The God of Death asks you a favor, you don't say no.

"If you kill Hercules, I'll restore all your lost memories," Hades promises soothingly. "No more darkness. You'll remember everything."

Cloud hasn't slept in weeks. He's forgotten what good judgment even looks like.

"What the hell," he says, and accepts.

-

* * *

challenge: temptation  
words: 200  
notes: set during CoM.


	32. Relativity: Riku

**Relativity**

Riku's not stupid. He knows he's fallen in with the wrong crowd. If it hadn't been for that creepy voice in the back of his head telling him _open the door_ to the point where he had to get over to the island as fast as he could, just to make it shut up, he would never have fallen into the darkness. He wouldn't have been taken in by a witch.

If there's one thing Riku's learned from hanging out with a bad crowd, it's that villains are relative. Yeah, Maleficent's destroying worlds, and she might have had a small part in the way his crumbled, but she's lonely. All she thinks about is power, gaining power, and then she'll have everyone under her control. She won't be by herself any more.

Yeah, he might have taken Kairi along for the ride, but he didn't mean to make her this way, like a cold, pale doll sitting listlessly in the corner. He didn't mean for his adventure (his _heroic_ adventure, wherein Riku Explores the Worlds, With Sora And Kairi) to start out with him working for the bad guys, witches and wizards and boogeymen and dead people bossing him around while he does everything they want. Yeah, he's trouble, but it's because he's guiltridden and just wants to find Kairi's heart.

Riku's had a lot of time to think things through. He knows there's no way he can be a hero now, not after being a bad guy. What kind of hero kidnaps innocent girls, or lets the darkness get to him? Heroes don't have voices in their head egging them on to do exactly the wrong thing.

Riku's not stupid, but he is proud. Yeah, he knows, deep down, that he's in big trouble, but he'd never admit it, not even to Kairi. So in a way, he's kind of happy when Sora won't come with him. Sure, Sora can be the hero. Someone has to be. And if he forgets about his friends, then, well, maybe heroes are a little preoccupied.

And villains are relative, anyway. Even if Riku's the bad guy, he still has a chance. He knows he's in for a long and bumpy ride, but it's not like he's going to get off now.

-

* * *

**challenge:** still believe  
**words:** 379  
**notes:** set during KH1.


	33. I Seen An Elephant Fly: Donald

**I Seen An Elephant Fly**

Up, went the elephant. Down, went the elephant. The elephant rose up again, and Donald felt his temper rising with it.

"Hiya, Donald!" Goofy hollered, waving giddily. Sora waved, too, although he was starting to look a little green.

"We don't have time for this!" Donald squawked back, tapping his foot impatiently.

Already halfway around the turn, Goofy and Sora ignored him, and both raised their hands in the air, cheering enthusiastically as the elephant sank towards the ground one more time. Stupid elephants. Pink elephants, blue elephants, flying elephants – the lot of them were useless, Donald decided, scowling. Enough was enough.

Finally, they staggered off, and a little girl in a sailor suit rushed onto the ride, nearly knocking them all down in her haste to board. Donald opened his mouth to scold them both, but something about Sora's expression made him hesitate.

"I kind of missed this," Sora said wistfully, watching the little girl giggling wildly as her elephant swooped down. "D'you think Dumbo's still practicing his flying?"

Goofy patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure he's just fine, Sora. You'll see him again someday."

"Yeah," Donald muttered. "You can't keep an elephant down."

Up, went the elephant.

-

* * *

challenge: disney rides  
words: 200


	34. Diamond in the Dust: Hades, Meg

**Diamond in the Dust  
**

The girl doesn't seem to know how to say a single positive thing, and Hades loves it. Each word drips with sarcasm, like honey from a honeycomb that was just stolen from a bunch of busy bees – he could make with the metaphors all day long, and it wouldn't change the fact that the girl is amazing. Caught up in the shall-we-say heat of the moment, he tells her all this, and a little bit more while he's at it.

"You are _perfect_," he says. "I don't think you even realize just how perfect you are – such biting commentary! Such wit! – so I'm going to make you a deal, Meg—"

"My name is _Megara_," the girl says haughtily, and sits down on a boulder. "Only my friends can call me Meg. And," she adds suspiciously, "I don't have friends."

"Then we'll just have to be friends," Hades says.

He poofs over to her, sulfur in his wake, and grins down at her with razor sharp teeth. The girl has the gall not to look even slightly perturbed by his act.

"So, what's your deal?" Meg asks. "Quit staring, and start sharing."

His grin doesn't falter. Perfect; what did he say?

"I need someone to do an inside job for me," he says, conjuring up a little smoke illusion figure to fit in his palm. "I don't suppose you know who this is?"

The girl stares back at him. "You want little old me to take Wonderboy out," she states, deadpan. Her arms cross. She's losing interest.

"Not exactly," Hades says quickly, clapping his hands together. "To specify: _I_ will take him out. But I need you to find his weak point."

She bites her lip. Her resolve is weakening. "What's in it for me?"

"Anything your little heart desires," he promises, deciding to skip over the disclaimer and the fine text. She's this close to saying yes, this close to being the best minion he could ever find; he can feel it. The Underworld's felt a little damp ever since the Heartless started scurrying around it, but nothing can put a damper on his excitement now.

And then Wonderboy himself has to fling open the doors to the Coliseum, gasping theatrically as he runs over to them, and the moment is ruined.

"Hades!" he announces, scowling. "I won't let you harm an innocent damsel!"

He pulls the girl away to stand behind him, ignoring her indignant yelp. Smooth, very smooth, Hades notes, as Jerk-ules even manages to strike a pose in the process.

"You've got it all wrong, kid," Hades says, holding his hands up innocently. "We were just having a little conversation. Isn't that right, dollface?"

The question is enough to interrupt the endless recitation of heroic platitudes being spouted at him from the Coliseum entrance.

Meg pauses. "I never said yes."

Later, after Hades has cooled down, he tries to shrug it off. You win some, you lose some, right? The girl stays tucked away in the back of his mind like a trump card to pull at the last moment; a diamond waiting to be carved into something better.

-  
-

challenge: treasure  
words: 523


	35. Reveille: Sora, Namine

**Reveille**

He fought his way through the fierce thorns and brambles that hindered his path. He dodged the narrow jets of flame; he laughed at the lightening that threatened to strike. He ran up endless stairs, through rooms unused, ignoring the shadows that chased him.

He entered her chamber, cold flowers strewn carelessly about, and saw his Princess asleep in her chair. He brushed her fine hair off her face, and watched her eyes slowly flutter open.

"Your Princess is in a very different castle," she whispered softly.

And then she shut the door.

-

She placed her hand on the glass and pressed a kiss to cold glass lips, turned up in a smile, even in sleep.

"Sora," said Naminé. "Please wake up."

-

* * *

challenge: kiss  
words: 122  
notes: post CoM. all hilarity is unintentional.


	36. Last Midnight: Larxene, Namine

**Last Midnight**

The girl kicks her feet against the legs of the chair, staring down at her knees. Her hair is ruffled, and Larxene carefully smoothes the cowlick down.

"We have _so_ many plans for you, darling, I'm sure you'll want your rest," she sneers.

The girl doesn't move, just tightens her grip on the hem of her too-perfect white skirt and keeps swinging her feet. The little witch could at least _react_, Larxene thinks.

"Don't tell me you want a bedtime story, too," she says, exasperated.

The girl stops, looks up wide-eyed, scared.

"I don't think I _can _sleep," she says.

-

* * *

challenge: insomnia  
words: 100


	37. Calender Girl&Speak Softly: various

**Calendar Girl**

Blue eyes watch him, slim hands smoothing down her white skirt. Riku hides his eyes under the palm of his hand and turns to look, squinting against the glare of the sun. Way to the Dawn hangs loosely by his side.

"Are you ever going to stop?" she asks, biting her lip.

"Probably not," he says.

"You're still looking for her, right?" she says.

"Don't be ridiculous," Riku snaps.

Kairi smoothes down her skirt again, invisible wrinkles flattened. "I'm sorry I can't bring her back."

"I don't know what you mean," Riku says. If he hides his eyes, then she won't be able to see the lie he's telling. (But Naminé sees, and oh, Riku, you can't keep blaming yourself.)

-

-

* * *

**Speak Softly**

Aladdin was nowhere to be found. At this point, Jasmine was beyond worried. She was half convinced she would find his mangled body in a corner full of those monsters that creep out of the dark, and half convinced he was never coming back.

She pulled her hood a little further over her face, slowly picking her way through the crowded market. Ahead, a little girl knocked some fruit off a stand, and Jasmine picked it up as it rolled to her feet. As she was about to place it back on the table, a burly hand suddenly grabbed her arm and _twisted_, hard, before she could even react.

"I do not welcome thieves," the vendor said harshly, holding her down.

"Oh, jeez, sis, I thought I lost you," a suave voice interrupted. Suddenly Jasmine found herself torn away and held by a very different person, robed in black. For a brief moment she almost hoped-- but whoever had just grabbed her was much too bony to be Aladdin.

"_So sorry_ for the inconvenience, she runs off sometimes, doesn't mean any harm, you know?" the stranger continued, pressing her to his side. "She didn't take anything, did she? Never means to."

Jasmine opened her mouth, ready to scream, fight, argue (she is the _Princess_ and _not_ to be manhandled), but the man was carefully adjusting her headscarf over her face, pulling it over her mouth in the process.

"No.." the vendor said slowly.

"Wonderful!" the stranger said brightly, dragging her away. "Thanks _so_ much for your help."

They had walked no more than a few steps when the sound of an explosion echoed from behind them. Jasmine managed to shake off her scarf and the stranger's hand, looking behind him, and saw the vendor's stand go up in a ball of fire.

"Boy, that guy really pissed me off," the strange man said, guiding her into an alleyway. "Hey, princess, isn't it a little _dangerous_ for you to be running around by yourself?"

Jasmine shrugged him off angrily, glaring. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The stranger looked down at her, green eyes piercing. "Princess, I just saved your skin. Maybe a little _gratitude_, huh?"

"Did you do that to his stall?" she demanded.

"Yeah, that was me," he said nonchalantly. He reached out and suddenly balanced a single flame in his black gloved hand, throwing it up into the air, and catching it when it landed. It didn't burn him at all.

"Any further questions?" he asked, closing his hand over the fire. When his hand opened, the flame was gone, like magic.

"Why did you help me?" Jasmine asked quietly.

The stranger laughed, but it was utterly mirthless. "Maybe you don't realize it, but you're a little too useful to let die." He leaned in closely, his mouth next to her ear. Involuntarily, she shrank against the wall behind her.

"You'd better stay in your palace, little princess. And don't come out if you can help it, or else the bad guys might just get you after all," the stranger whispered. "Keep that in mind."

His hand brushed past her hair, touching the wall, and suddenly she fell backwards and down, down, down-

Jasmine's eyes flew open, and she sat up abruptly. The darkness was gone. She was on her couch, in her own room, and she could hear Aladdin and Abu playing outside by the fountain, Rajah purring softly on her bed. Her scarf was lying on the floor.

She shivered. Everything was normal, but she felt chilled.

-

In the alleyway, two Assassins quickly sliced through the last few Shadows that had been tailing the Princess of Heart. They swayed and fell, like quicksilver, and vanished into the market crowd.

"Moving along," Axel said to himself, and he stepped into another portal.

-

* * *

words: 120  
words: 638  
notes: written for Fated Bliss as a Secret Santa project. :] (double hitter!) merry christmas~


	38. Culture Shock: Mog the Moogle

**Culture Shock  
**

Their world had been one of sharp beauty and ingenious craftsmanship. The markets were crowded with merchants hawking wares from all over the world, exchanging money, forging weapons. Their technology was advanced, but it wasn't enough to keep them from falling to the darkness, world breaking apart, families separated.

Mog was lucky. He'd woken up alone but alive, clutching his little pouch of tools, on a cobbled street running through empty buildings. He'd wandered around, avoiding the pools of darkness wavering around him, until he ran into a group of strange creatures.

They were tall and lanky, with long bones protruding from the ends of their arms, tiny noses, heads covered by stringy things, and large, round, eyes. They were easily three times his height. Mog calculated his odds – darkness? Or monsters? – and decided to risk his chances.

"Oh man," said the monster closest to his height. "Are you the cutest thing or what! Can we keep 'im?" It danced around him in a circle, leaning in close, and poked his belly.

"You speak my language?" Mog said, trying to ignore the smallest creature, who had begun to admire his pouch.

"Seems like it," said the tallest, pulling the smallest one away, keeping the other hand on his weapon.

"Don't be rude," scolded another, in a soft, strange voice. Her nose was a healthy red. She scrunched up her eyes into a nice shape and leaned closer to him, but the effect was ruined by her too-wide mouth. Mog could see most of her teeth.

"My name is Aerith," she said, pausing to sneeze into a handkerchief. "You're in Traverse Town. Everyone here lost their world to the Heartless."

"What are you, anyway?" the smallest creature interrupted, staring with even rounder eyes.

Mog looked down at his pouch. "I'm a Moogle."

The small creature nodded gravely. "I'm a ninja."

"_Yuffie_," Aerith said through her handkerchief. Her nose kept getting redder.

"We have room if you want to stay and look for any others from your world," the tallest said grudgingly. "Uh. Moogles, I mean. But we should get going. There are more Heartless around here."

As if on cue the darkness rippled away behind him. Mog shivered, right up through his pompom, and made his decision.

"My name's Mog," he said. "Do you have a forge?"

-

* * *

words: 385  
challenge: before  
notes: backstory is always fun. I'm not sure who Mog is, but he's one of the ones running around Traverse Town.


	39. Hand in Hand: Wakka

**Hand in Hand  
**

They lay out on the beach at sunset, hands not quite touching, feet inches away from the waves, and looked up at the sky. The stars were rising beyond the horizon.

It's been the three of them for as long as they can remember. Through thick and thin, yeah? They don't give up, no matter what comes their way. The darkness was scary, but they'd gotten through, and they'd all come home safe. And as long as they were with each other, it would always be all right.

Wakka relaxed, and closed his eyes.

It had been a long summer.

-

* * *

challenge: bindings  
words: 100  
notes: won at kh_drabble.


	40. The Best Laid Plans: Donald

**The Best Laid Plans  
**

It was a nice day, Donald admitted to himself, looking out at the blue skies and sunshine. The sun had shone right in through his window this morning, just a little too early for his tastes, and woke him up straightaway. He'd been hoping it wouldn't be such a nice day once he'd woken up, looking forward to being angry a little more, but it just wasn't any good.

Today was the big festival, the once they'd all been planning for months. Officially, it was to commemorate the King's coronation. Unofficially, it was almost his birthday, but the Queen had wanted that part to be a surprise. The King had been locking himself in his library for months, now, studying as hard as could be. He deserved a break.

In spite of himself, Donald was looking forward to it. He'd complained about it all week, but he really didn't mind the extra work he had to put into it. He was going to set off fireworks at the very end, a huge display like the kind he used to do for his nephews before they snuck off in that Gummi Ship.

Yes, it was going to be wonderful. He'd already changed into his official robes, partly out of convenience. Goofy was supposed to be on guard duty later, and he would hopefully be dressed appropriately. It was so important to stick to ceremony on days like these, Donald thought. It made it more impressive. There was a lot to be said for impressiveness.

He balanced the final plans and some miscellaneous papers in his arms so that they wouldn't topple over before continuing on to his usual duties, making his way through the hallway. Festival or no festival, there was protocol to follow. It was his duty, after all, to make sure the King was up and ready for the day, and he'd have to get these papers signed, too. It was important to be orderly. Not that Mickey wasn't, of course, it's just that he sometimes had different ideas of priorities and orders and things.

Enough of that, Donald decided, humming. Today was the big festival, and it was going to be _nice_. If it was up to him, Donald felt, he'd make sure everything goes perfectly.

With that, he pushed open the doors to the throne room and approached a conspicuously empty throne.

-

* * *

challenge: pageant  
words: 395  
notes: funny story! apparently this is from last June, and I forgot to post it.


	41. Nothing is Forever: Riku, Namine

**nothing is forever**

Naminé is nothing but a pale slip of white ahead of him in the dark. Her dress ruffles as something passes through the nothingness past them, something Riku isn't sure he wants to meet, and for a moment her very being seems to flicker.

"It feels like we're going nowhere," she says in a small voice, turning to face him.

The old Riku would have made a snarky retort, something like "Yeah, we kind of _are_," with one of those withering looks that made people shrink back and Sora laugh, because he knew it was an act, and Kairi would try to act stern and end up dissolving into giggles. Thinking about it, he wasn't that funny. He wasn't that nice, either.

"Don't worry," he says instead. He steps forwards; feels darkness coating him like thick oilcloth, wrapping itself around him and slowly spreading down to his feet. It's itchy, like a dull tickling deep at the back of his head. A few more strides and he feels taller. Different.

Naminé bites her lip. "I knew this was a bad idea-" she starts, wringing her hands. The darkness is wrapped around her, too, little tendrils reaching out for her. She brushes it off her arms jerkily, a clockwork doll that's trying too hard to keep running by herself.

"It's the only way, right?" Riku says, voice shifting into baritone. He tries not to gag. The darkness is sliding down his throat, through his hair, and it's a feeling he never wanted to feel again. He feels like the old Riku, trapped in a body he didn't belong in.

He shuts his eyes as the darkness pools over his shoulders and gathers. "Hey," he starts, reaching out blindly. It's a stupid move, he thinks, a moment too late. He's not sure what he wanted to say, anyway.

Naminé takes his hand in hers. It's tiny and delicate and he can feel every bone. "It'll be all right," she says, quietly, and somehow he feels like she wasn't trying to convince herself anymore.

"Yeah," he chokes out. He's drowning in darkness, it's filling his lungs, but he needs to have this power, to help Sora and make things right.

The nothingness around them changes, tastes sour. More nothingness passes through. It's oppressive, and Naminé's hand is the only thing holding him back from falling into it and he doesn't want to let go.

"Riku," she says urgently. "It's here. The portal."

Riku gathers all his courage to speak past the lump in his throat. "It's Ansem, now."

"_Riku_," Naminé says. "You're not Ansem."

"I have to be," he counters, but before he can open his eyes to look at her and see her reaction to the disguise smothering him now, she reaches up and carefully ties a blindfold around his eyes, hiding his sight from view. Reality becomes relative, all blurred edges and smells and sounds.

"You have to lie," she says, and pauses, and he can feel unfamiliar fingers ghosting over his face. "You don't have to become him."

He refuses to look at her. Instead, he looks at the portal just behind her, a shimmering curtain of rain falling beyond the swirls of darkness leading to a world that wasn't supposed to exist. But he can feel her, a faint white glow standing by him. He can feel Sora, sleeping somewhere deep in his heart.

"Lying, huh," he says, smoothly. Like it's that easy. There's nothing else to say. He pulls the hood on his cloak up over his face, shrouding his borrowed appearance, and strides into the rain to face his demons.

-  


* * *

challenge: liar  
words: 605


	42. Burned: Sora

**Burned**

Sora can use Firaga, no problem. He knows how to make it go _snap,_ a long chain of fire stretching out to lick up any Heartless in his way. He's noticed that it works better with some Keychains. He knows that Firaga is the kind of magic that could hurt his friends, if he's not careful when he's aiming.

He knows these things deep down, like he knows that there are some scars on his body he'll probably never remember how he got, like he knows that Kairi's waiting and Riku's going to be fine. Experience comes from memories of dodging steady waves of flame being shot at him, taunting voices telling him to feel the heat, the distant sensation of gliding above a pool of burning liquid darkness that would grab him at any moment if he touched it. It comes from dreams of being trapped in a room with walls of flame while someone he never wants to hurt takes shots at him with fire.

Honestly? Sora uses Blizzaga a lot more.

-  


* * *

  
challenge: none  
words: 174


	43. Give a Whistle: Jiminy Cricket, Roxas

**Give a Whistle**

It was one of those nights where the wind dies down suddenly and the air feels fraught with adventure. The moon lay low on the horizon, and the empty road lay ever beckoning them forwards.

Donald and Goofy were fast asleep in the tent they'd found tucked away in one of Sora's pockets. Usually Jiminy had no problem sleeping through Donald's whistling noises and Goofy's loud snores, but he'd woken up suddenly and found Sora missing.

He scanned the area. There was no sign of Sora anywhere.

"Sora?" he called.

A distance away, Sora sat up. He'd been lying down in the grass, stargazing.

Jiminy hopped over to him, relieved. "There you are-"

It wasn't Sora.

It was Sora.

He had Sora's eyes, and Sora's messy hair, and Sora's clothes, and then it all flickered like bad data on a computer screen and there was another boy with lighter hair, and white clothes, and an expression Sora didn't usually ever have. It looked cold. He didn't seem to recognize him at all.

"Sorry," the boy said flatly. "Sora's.... sleeping."

Jiminy jumped back in surprise, speechless. He knew he ought to go fetch Donald and Goofy, but for some reason, his feet wouldn't move. Something was bothering him, tickling at the back of his mind.

"You're the boy from the photograph!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah," said the boy, sounding equally surprised. "I'm Roxas."

Roxas reached past his pocket, and into Sora's, and pulled out the photograph in question. There he stood, next to the gang from Twilight Town.

"Well I'll be," said Jiminy Cricket, with a low whistle of surprise.

Roxas' expression hadn't changed, but somehow, it didn't look as cold as before. The boy looked a little bit lost, and unsure of what would happen.

"How did you end up here, Roxas?" Jiminy asked kindly.

"Woke up, came outside, decided to lay down here," Roxas said blandly. He pointed upwards, just as a shooting star shot across the sky. "I felt like watching the stars."

Jiminy frowned. "I didn't mean _here_, I meant-- well. What are you?"

Roxas shrugged helplessly. Again, it looked like fuzzy data washed over him, his hands encased in Sora's gloves and then flickering back. "I'm sort of... another part of Sora."

Jiminy sat silently for a moment, lost in thought. "Tell you what. Why don't I just keep this a secret for a while?"

"Maybe you should," said Roxas, with a ghost of a smile, and he began to fade away.

"Wait!" Jiminy exclaimed, jumping up urgently. "If you ever want to talk, just say Jiminy Cricket, and I'll be there. You hear?"

"I heard you," Sora said sleepily. He yawned, and looked around. "Man, what are we doing out here? It's gotta be the middle of the night."

He stumbled back to the tent. "'night, Jiminy."

-

"Thanks," said Roxas, quietly.

* * *

challenge: chance meeting  
words: 476


	44. The Long and The Short: Trinity, Zazu

**The Long and The Short**

"Awriiiiight," Sora said through a mouthful of Keyblade, landing neatly on the other side of one very pulverized Heartless. Goofy obligingly charged in and lay the final smackdown, ricocheting away into some nearby rocks.

"There's gotta be a better way to the Oasis than through here," Donald mumbled, flapping his way over to Goofy, who was stuck flat on his back between two rocks, kicking his legs up in the air. With a loud, suffering sigh, he cast Magnera and managed to get him back on his feet.

Sora dismissed the Keyblade and shook off the sweat, ruffling his fur in the process. "I kinda like going this way, though. It's got lots of action."

"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said, in the process of getting himself back out of his shell, "maybe Donald's right."

Sora pouted, and pawed the ground. "But we have to actually sneak up on the Heartless here. Mostly they sneak up on us. Isn't it nice getting to pounce on them for a change?"

In the distance, something caught his attention. His eyes narrowed, he crouched down low. "_There_."

Donald and Goofy exchanged an exasperated look.

"Sora," Donald started, "I don't think--"

"GOTCHA!" Sora pounced, soaring through the air, and landing on his prey, realizing too late that he'd misjudged the distance, and tumbling head over paws until he stopped, just on the edge of a precipice.

The bird he'd managed to pin down gave a frightened squeak and nearly passed out. It was a bright shade of blue and probably, judging by appearances, not a Heartless.

"Oh. Wow. Um. You probably aren't a Heartless," Sora said hesitantly.

"No," said the bird, testily. "I am not."

"Are you okay?" Sora ventured.

The bird glared up at him. "I'd be absolutely marvelous if you just _got off me_."

"Oh. Sorry."

Donald and Goofy caught up to them as Sora sheepishly rolled away, letting the bird stand up and smooth his ruffled feathers.

"That was quite a pounce," the bird said finally, once he was done preening. "I don't think I've been tackled like that since Simba was young."

Sora jumped up. "Hey, you know Simba? We were just on our way over to the Oasis to find him!"

"Of course I know Simba," the bird replied scornfully. "I was the royal advisor to King Mufasa. I practically helped _raise_ Simba. Before things changed. And all that."

He brightened. "But if you know Simba, perhaps he mentioned me? Zazu?"

The trio exchanged a glance.

"I don't think so," Donald said finally.

"But would you like to come with us?" Goofy asked.

"I'd love to hear about when Simba was a kid," Sora said excitedly, grinning.

Zazu considered their offer. "I suppose I could share a few tales along the way..."

They set off towards the Oasis, the only sound Zazu's haughty voice beginning a story. "King Mufasa, while wise, was also a prankster at heart, and he often made Simba's lessons into a great joke. One day he was teaching him to pounce..."

-

* * *

challenge: here comes trouble  
words: 507


	45. Restoration: Aerith, Sora

**Restoration  
**

"Oh, my," said Aerith, surprised. They hadn't taken more than two steps out of the Gummi ship before they had to stop, blinded by the sudden whiteness and a sharp wind blowing.

She took a careful step forwards, her boots sinking into the snow with a satisfying crunch. It was very cold, and very white, as far as she could see. Mountains rose around them like walls of a fortress.

"I know!" Sora whooped, beaming widely. He was already running ahead of her down the slope. "Oh, man, you're gonna love it, Aerith, just wait til you see-"

Aerith paused for another moment, gazing out on the landscape. She could see her breath appear like little puffs of smoke. Sora was far below, now, running past discarded banners left by the army, tattered fabric blowing in the wind. She closed her eyes, felt the cold air envelop her, and listened to the sounds of a world quietly healing.

-

They walked along one of the mountain trails, their shoes leaving an imprint alongside the hoofprints and wagon wheel tracks.

"Isn't it great?" Sora said enthusiastically, possibly for the fifth time. He seized another handful of snow from the side of the road. "Snow is _amazing_. Does it ever snow in Radiant Gardens?"

"Once, perhaps," Aerith said slowly, "when I was very young. I never saw snow after that."

Sora threw the snowball up in the air, letting it fall back into his open hands and fall apart. "What was it like?"

Aerith thought of flowers being buried under snow, of sliding on ice on the streets, when something hit her shoulder, snapping her out of her reverie. She looked down to see snow covering her jacket, looked up to see Sora nonchalantly hiding his hands behind his back.

"Hmm," said Aerith. She crouched down, the hem of her skirt touching the ground, and picked up some snow of her own, patting it into a round shape. "It was a little like _this._"

She straightened up quickly and threw the snowball as hard as she could. Sora tried to dodge, but it still hit him square in the face. He grimaced, spat out some snow, and promptly lobbed another snowball at her, grinning all the while.

Aerith smiled back and caught it unbroken.

Sora whistled, impressed. "You're good."

"I know," said Aerith, serenely.

-

"Okay," said Sora, "the village is just up ahead."

They were passing through a stretch of road lined by burned trees, reminders of war and the destruction left by the Heartless. Aerith could see the very tips of roofs in the distance, bare wooden structures stark against the cold, pale sky.

"It's mostly an army post now, I guess," Sora said thoughtfully. "But they brought their families up with them. You'll see. It's nice."

The not-quite-rebuilt mountain village was surrounded by a stone wall, patched in most places and topped by red tiles, most of which were either chipped or missing. The buildings hadn't fared much better: most were simple wooden structures, lacking paint, and there were still a few tents scattered around, even in the center of the village.

"This is it," Sora announced, standing on the edge of an enormous patch of dirt with absolutely nothing growing, except, perhaps, the snow around it. "This spot used to be their gardens, before…" he trailed off.

Aerith shook her head.

"This is a new beginning," she said, firmly. "There's no 'before'. There's only now. That's why we came here, remember?"

She pulled off her gloves and dug a hole in the frozen ground before reaching into her pocket and drawing out a small bag of seeds. She shook a few seeds out of the bag, pressing them into the hole.

"There you go," she said softly.

"Will they really grow from something that small?" Sora said, doubtfully. "I mean, plants, and all those things?"

Aerith pressed her hands to the ground, listening closely as it spoke.

_Life,_ it whispered. _Life and peace and prosperity in all the worlds._

_I am life_, whispered a rougher voice from farther away, like a dragon's voice_. Life for my people. Let me help. _

"Yes, they'll grow," she agreed. "You'll see."

-

"Hey, Aerith," said Sora, later on, once they were going back to Radiant Gardens. "Thanks for the help."

"No," said Aerith, smiling. "Thank you for the snow."

-

* * *

**words**: 727  
**notes**: written for nirvana_falling, as a Secret Santa project. :) merry christmas!


	46. Whistle in the Dark: Mickey

**Whistle In the Dark**

A long, long time ago, back before kings or anything were even important at all, Mickey signed up for something bigger than he'd ever thought he'd get to do. Oh, sure, he used to be full of himself when he was younger. _There goes Mickey again_, they'd say, watching him go by, _you know, Mickey Mouse. M-o-u-s-e. That's right._ And then he'd go by and cause trouble on the docks or in the town, devil may care attitude and all. (He sees a lot of himself in Riku. A lot of bravado. A lot of heart. Riku's like he was in his time, except that, in the end, he made better choices. Riku's not done yet, though. He's sure of that, because he's still watching for that moment when Riku finally decides, finally grows up.)

See, back when magic was less of a way of life and more of something extraordinary, Mickey had given himself up. He gave up his life of lazing around the river, traded it all in when a man came and asked him if he was ready to lead. _Yes sir_, Mickey'd said, _you bet_, and suddenly he found himself faced with learning how to build around a cornerstone and build up people and be King.

Being King, he'd been told, does not mean you boss everyone around. It meant being a friend. It meant being a protector. It meant taking care of everybody and everything, it meant doing what had to be done.

Mickey'd lived with that order, ever since then. He'd trained and ruled and fought to do what he had to, to be bigger than himself. He'd kept himself open to what had to be done, and he'd gone where he had to for a long, long, long time.

These days, he was almost always tired. He missed being home, he missed peace. He missed quiet naps outside in the garden under a tree, lazy afternoons on a boat, running around with Pluto or reading with Minnie. But darkness wasn't much for growing flowers, or boats, or libraries, he'd found. It eats you up if you let it (and he won't let it get to Riku, not now or ever) or swallows you up in a fog (and he won't let it get to Sora or his friends, either, even if it means he has to follow them forever) and then you're stuck.

So he waits. And he watches. And when he sees Sora stumble and about to fall, Mickey goes to catch him and helps out as best he can. When Riku can't feel himself underneath his disguise any more, Mickey's there to remember who he is for him. He goes beyond himself, beyond his tired arms and feet and perks up his tail and jumps in to fight.

More than a m-o-u-s-e, he thinks, he's a k-i-n-g, with friends to protect. He whistles in the dark, and waits for the sound to echo back to him along the way.

* * *

challenge: best supporting actor  
words: 480


	47. Heal: Sora

**Heal**

There's one terrible moment where Sora looks down and sees his hand covered in blood from where it had been sliced open by a shard of broken glass. He'd accidentally smashed a teacup while dodging one of the sneaky monkey Heartless's banana peels in the camp, and in his haste to pick it up, he hadn't paid attention to the sharp edges.

But then Tarzan had taken off into the jungle suddenly, and they'd all run after him, because he tended to know when something was up. Sora'd forgotten about the tiny little cut until he found himself unable to grip the Keyblade with as much strength and determination as usual.

"Owwww," Sora said, wincing. He shook off the blood onto the ground and flexed his hand, Keyblade momentarily hanging to his side. The blood was still welling up, and the cut felt a lot deeper than he'd remembered. It _hurt._

Tarzan kicked another Heartless to the side; Goofy, swinging his shield around in a circle, knocked down another three.

"Sora!" scolded Donald, from across the clearing.

One of the Heartless had begun to creep closer by innocently skipping about, nosing towards the small, darker patch of red staining the dirt. It stuck a tiny pink tongue out from its mouth, leaning towards the blood to taste it. Casually, it looked back up at Sora, and cocked its head to the side, licking its mouth.

It was chilling.

"Hyyyyyahhhh!" yelped Goofy, tackling the Heartless, who burst into pieces of munny and shadow. Sora quickly dodge rolled out of the way, some of the munny somehow landing in his pocket.

"_Clumsy_," Donald grumbled, trailing off into an unintelligible murmur. He raised his staff, and suddenly Sora's hand was bathed in a cool green light. The Keyblade didn't feel heavy to carry anymore.

Tarzan trotted over, looking concerned. "Okay?" he asked.

"_Yes_," Sora said fervently, shaking out his hand. "Man, you guys are the best!"

He really, really hated blood. But at least the Heartless didn't bleed.

-  


* * *

challenge: blood  
words: 335


	48. Darkness: Riku

**Darkness**

There's one terrible moment where Riku's pretty sure that he's going to end the day covered in blood. His _own _blood. After they kill him for breaking everything in the castle.

Riku had been investigating the main hall, wandering around, examining everything in the alcoves. Sometimes there were chests with a hidden dusty potion inside; sometimes there were just stone jars or grimly lit torches. He'd taken to the "fight first, ask later" method of exploration: if something moved, he hit it. He'd managed to almost break a lot of furniture and statues that way, but he'd also managed to surprise a lot of napping Heartless.

Maleficent had said that the Heartless wouldn't harm him, that he had nothing to worry about. He was a guest in her domain, she had intoned. Only, he should mind what he disturbs. But he'd kind of dismissed that.

There was one basin filled with some kind of dark water that he'd tried to shake up, but the moment he put his hand on it, it toppled over and spilled out into a pool of liquid darkness. He'd tried to pick it up, but when he'd reached for the bowl, the rim it had sliced cleanly and deeply into his palm. He'd let it go, and it had fallen down a lot of stairs. That's when he'd realized he was probably going to be in trouble.

Riku squeezed his hand, hissing at the pain of his skin tearing open. Blood was starting to well up.

"Riku," Maleficent announced, startling him. He whirled around to see her standing in the doorway to his room. She glided over to him, regal, her black cloak trailing behind her into the shadows.

"Have you injured yourself?" she asked.

"No," said Riku, hands folded to hide the steady trickle of blood. The cut _burned_.

Maleficent clucked her tongue, almost motherly. "There, there, foolish child. Did I not warn you to be careful what you touch?"

She reached out and took his hands in her own. Her skin was cold to the touch, and looked eerily green next to Riku's pale skin.

"Oh," she said softly, looking at the blood dripping from his hands. Her eyes narrowed. "You've been exploring, I suppose."

There was a Heartless lurking in the doorway behind her. Riku was starting to think she kept them in her cloak, like dolls. Maybe one would pop out of her hair some day. It would be funny. Kairi would think it was funny.

Maleficent dragged a finger over the cut, and Riku watched as his hand was suddenly entangled in tendrils of darkness, weaving across his skin. The cut closed. The darkness ate up the blood so that all there was left was a spot on the floor, and faded away.

"What'd you do?" Riku demanded, flexing his fingers. His hand didn't hurt anymore.

"I bound your wound," Maleficent said, eyebrows raised. "One heals from the inside out."

"But," Riku said, faltering. "I'm not…"

"Not what?" Maleficent questioned, suddenly seeming even taller and full of shadows than before. "Are you not made of darkness, deep in your heart? Can you not control the Heartless with your will?"

The Heartless behind her twitched, shook its head. Riku shuddered.

"We'll see about that," he said.

* * *

challenge: blood  
word: 548  
notes: paired with 'heal', see previous chapter.


	49. Staged: Roxas, Twilight Gang

**Staged**

Olette's been agonizing over the school play tryouts for weeks and weeks, it seems. It's all she ever talks about anymore. It's driving Hayner crazy. His flair for the dramatic does not extend to the arts. The others, meanwhile, seem to have resigned themselves to it.

Today, Olette is staring at her reflection in a dusty mirror on the wall, twirling her hair. She turns and pouts. "Do you think I should wear black for the auditions? Black is professional, right?" she asks.

Hayner interrupts before anyone can say anything. "Nobody will care what you wear! You're going to be fantastic or else you'll fail miserably and then we can all _move on with our lives_-"

Pence is more sympathetic. "Black would look nice on you, Olette."

Roxas, meanwhile, feels torn. On one hand, he's happy to see Olette so excited about something, but on the other hand, he can tell that Hayner wants him to back him up. It seems like they haven't done anything all together in ages. Life has been… stagnant.

"What's the play about?" he ventures. It seems like a safe topic.

Olette beams, turning to him. "It's one of my favourite stories! They're adapting the legend of the heavenly maiden. I used to ask my mom to read it to me every night when I was little."

Roxas smiles politely. Hayner groans loudly. Pence throws a ball at his head, which cues an impromptu game of dodgeball. Olette does not seem too happy.

"Don't you know the story? About the heavenly maiden, who came to watch the sunset and had her robe stolen by her husband?" she demands, amazed when Roxas has almost no reaction.

"The story sounds kind of familiar," Roxas says, doubtfully.

Olette stares at him, aghast. "It is a _local legend_," she stresses. Like it's a date in history he should memorize for a test.

"Tradition states it happened just over on the big hill," Pence calls, ducking away from the ball that just ricocheted towards him.

"Shut up about your dumb ghost stories, already!" Hayner snaps. "Let's go do something already. Ice cream! My treat."

* * *

The story goes a little something like this: a heavenly maiden ("Kind of like an angel, I guess? Or a ghost? She's not necessarily good, though," Olette explains) would come down to earth from the spirit world to watch the sunset. She had a special robe that gave her powers and made her immortal, but it was heavy, and she would take it off to warm up in the sun. One day a man caught sight of her and fell in love with the way her hair shone in the sunset. He stole her robe and hid it away, and she forgot everything. He made up a name for her, and eventually she fell in love with him too, and they got married and had children. ("See, she couldn't go home without that robe, anyway," Pence adds.)

The husband told his children about the robe, once they were old enough, so that they would hide it from their mother. But one day, she found it, and realized that she had been trapped all along. The daughter quickly hid it again, but the maiden had changed back to her old self. Now, all she cared about was going home, and she would do anything to get back there.

("What happens next?" Roxas asks, intrigued, but Olette only grins at him. "Come and see!")

* * *

All Olette's agonizing wins her the role of the daughter. Pence tries out for stage crew, and throws himself into the job. Hayner, on the other hand, stomps around, alternating between being jealous of Seifer for getting the role of the husband and being mad at the rest of them for getting involved with a boring school play. Roxas ends up helping put up posters all over town.

They start practicing for the play in the Usual Spot. Olette wants their help in learning her lines. Hayner deigns to stick around, scuffing his feet and fidgeting loudly as he pretends not to pay attention; Pence is placidly assembling props.

Roxas volunteers to read Olette's lines with her. "Where is my robe?" he demands.

Olette's eyes widen dramatically. "What do you mean?"

Roxas takes a step forward, pretending to be menacing. The script says to do so, anyway. "That robe was everything I was," he says, coldly. "You've hidden part of my soul from me. I want it back."

Olette's fingers tighten on the script. "But you don't belong there anymore!" she says, throwing her arm out in a vague direction. "You're part of our family now."

"You have no right to decide my life for me," Roxas says quietly. He raises his voice: "I will decide for myself!"

The words ring out in the dusty space. There is a long pause. Olette is staring at him with soft green eyes, and she suddenly seems concerned, but she can't bring herself to say anything. Pence and Hayner, seated on boxes, are perfectly still.

"Um," Pence says. "That was kind of intense."

"_Man_," Hayner complains, "why didn't you try out for this thing, Roxas? You would have been way better than that _jerk_." But Hayner starts helping put up the posters, too.

* * *

Roxas is dreaming. He dreams of being caught by hands gloved in black, but he's never seen them before – never worked with those hands, as a partner, a colleague—

He struggles and pulls away, but he doesn't get far.

Roxas wakes up, and realizes something is missing.

* * *

Roxas and Hayner go to watch the play together. They can just barely make out Pence's outline, moving around the scenery on stage, a dark shadow appearing and disappearing. Seifer is haughty, as always, and he's definitely sly enough to be the self-serving husband. The audience boos him when he steals the robe, and Hayner smirks; his passionate declaration of true love and flowery proposal drives both of them to silent laughter, because the idea of Seifer being in love is too funny, but the audience likes it.

Olette looks very pretty, but she recites her lines stiffly once she catches sight of how many people are in the audience watching her. Her reactions are overdramatic. She's happy, though; they can tell.

It's a good play, Roxas decides, and he's glad he could be part of it in some way. There is a lull in the action. Olette is onstage, and in a moment she'll be sobbing out her sorrow at losing her mother.

Who is playing the maiden, Roxas wonders? He's been so caught up in picking out his friends, he had barely paid attention to the program. Is it Fuu? Or maybe Jessie?

And suddenly, Roxas finds himself on stage.

* * *

He is alone on stage, standing in near-complete darkness, and playing his role for an audience of one. His memories are flooding back. He clenches his fists tightly.

"You've been keeping me here all along, haven't you?" he says, despairingly. He can feel anger flickering up in him, like a cold flame. "You're the one who made me forget who I am."

The man in red is seated in the center row of the auditorium, and regards him with an unfeeling stare. Roxas is unsure if he is supposed to impress him - can he even make him react?

"Stop fighting," the man suggests, voice ringing through the auditorium. "There's no use. You never belonged anywhere, really. Not even here."

All Roxas knows is that he has to get out of here. He's tired of feeling trapped. Stage lights shine bright on him and everything is silent around him. But this is _his_ moment, no one else's, and he knows his lines by heart.

"You have no right to decide my life for me!" he shouts.

The curtain closes.

* * *

Roxas sinks back into the depths of Sora's subconsciousness, feeling Sora – _his_ – heart, and lets himself become drowsy and relaxed for the first time in a long, long while. Sora's heart is very open, and there's enough room for him to wander about to examine all the things Sora holds dear, and enough closed doors that he expects more excitement, eventually.

He feels comfortable, now. Like himself.

He looks at his hands, once again gloved in black. The long black coat swishes around his legs.

"This is everything I was," he says softly, to himself. "This is part of who I am."

Finally, he goes home.

* * *

**challenge:** none  
**words: **1410  
**notes**: Not really a drabble by, like, a lot, but it made more sense in this collection of stories than as a standalone.


End file.
